The Art of Life
by soleilthesun8994
Summary: Yuri, Raina, Minho, Key, Hyun Joong, and Tiffany. Six people. Six different talents, Six different lives. One goal: To be the best they can be in their fields. Life is like a canvas. It is the artist that paints on it. We make our lives. We are artists.
1. The Talents

**PART ONE:**

Here she comes. Walking down the hallways with everyone's eyes on her. Her tan skin, her dark, raven hair, her slender body, and her double eye lid eyes. Judging by the way she carries herself, you can tell she's a dancer despite being new to the school. She is wearing a blue jacket with a hood at the back, white sweatpants and Nike sneakers. Her backpack strap is on one shoulder with her other things in her left hand. Everyone's eyes are on her but she doesn't really care. Nobody is approaching her but she doesn't really care either. That's not what she's here for.

She's here to dance.

Kwon Yuri is here to dance.

Kwon Yuri is a very quiet girl, as you can see. Maybe it's because she's new in town and she hasn't met anyone yet. I'm sure this girl has a lot of potential despite being or appearing withdrawn to say the very least. Because I swear, I've seen more confident new students. Most of the new students that come to our school are outgoing and friendly and say hi to the first person they see. Kwon Yuri is different. I see Kwon Yuri make her way to the dance studio where she is to start her very first class. THE very first class for this year in the dance department. I see Kwon Yuri walk past Son Ga In. Let's see what happens.

"Ouch! Shit! My things!" Yuri bumps into Ga In and apologizes as soon as she can. Ga In bends down to pick her things and so does Yuri. Yuri helps Ga In with her stuff but Ga In slaps her hand away and stands up.

"God! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you I was in a hurry and-"

"Next time, watch where you're going, toots! You're new here! Don't act like you know and own the place!" Ga In hollers and walks away. Yuri is dumbfounded but is still holding Ga In's music sheet. Ga In notices and snatches it from her. Yuri is embarrassed and pale. Not a very good experience. This'll scar her. Not minding it, Yuri enters the dance studio and places her bag down on the floor. She eyes the girls who are stretching and practicing their dance moves. Yuri is lucky that she got accepted. Not many girls get in this school-in the dance department at least. Being new, Yuri really doesn't know anyone is somewhat too shy to talk to the beautiful girls and handsome guys working their beautiful bodies out. She just sits in one corner and hugs her bag, trying hard to stomach the bad experience that she had earlier.

This school's not just some talent school. It's actually hell when decorated, sprayed with Lysol, and filled with beautiful yet sinful people, myself included although not on that wavelength. The school's beautiful but the people aren't.

Let's get back to Yuri's case. Yuri is sitting there in the corner watching the girls and boys practice when the teacher comes in and greets everyone. Yuri stands up and greets the teacher, too.

"Good morning, class! Today is the start of a new school year filled with dance, passion, and talent." greeted Mrs. Joon. She sees Yuri and realizes that Yuri is a new student, therefore calls her to come forward and introduce herself. "I see we have a new student. Young lady, why don't you come forward and introduce yourself. We'd like to get to know you better since it's the start of the school year." Yuri walks to Mrs. Joon and faces the girls and boys. Everyone stares at her the way the students down the hallway did.

"Hello everyone. My name is Kwon Yuri. I'm new here as you all know. I came from another dance school and because of financial difficulties and some problems with that school, my family decided to come here and make me study here. So I hope you guys accept me as a classmate, a dance-mate, a friend, and a family member. That's all. Thank you." the other students clap. One raises his hand and asks Yuri something.

"Yuri, you said you came from another dance school." asks Mark Kim.

"Yes. That's true."

"Can you give us a demo of your dance." the entire class roars in joy. Mrs. Joon encourages Yuri to dance.

"Well you have to play some music, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to dance!" Mark Kim plays "Killa" on his phone and Yuri begins to move gracefully to the music. There's no real choreography in her demonstration but you can see the passion and gracefulness that Yuri has. Everyone applauds her afterwards.

"Thank you." Mrs. Joon says. "You're a very good dancer. That dance school where you came from must be really good! They have manufactured a very talented girl! Welcome to the class!" The class claps and cheers. Four girls, however, aren't very happy about the new girl.

"She's gonna have to show us more than that if she wants to survive!" says the shortest one with short hair.

**PART TWO:**

Let's head over to the drama department. You see that guy! That guy with short hair. The really tall guy. Yeah. He's the best actor in this class. He can portray any emotion without breaking a sweat. Crying, laughing, killing, anything! He's almost perfect. He's won so many awards for his performances over the past few years that he's been in this school. Not only that, he's the perfect Adonis. Handsome, talented, smart, friendly. He's the perfect guy. All the girls…well maybe not all…most of the girls are crazy for him and want him. The guys either hate him or want to be friends with him. All is cool with this guy. But he's not really after the popularity. The swooning girls and greening with envy guys aren't what he's after. The rush of being popular is not what makes his world go round.

It's the desire to act.

Choi Minho's desire to act.

"Alright. First things first. First day of this school year, assessment time. I'm gonna call each and every one of you here to demonstrate a dramatic scene here in front." Mr. Park says. He looks at the long list of drama club students and tries to select a student. "Ah! Mr. Choi Min Ho. Kindly please step forward and give us a demonstration of a dramatic scene. Since you are last year's Best Student Actor awardee, why don't you prove to us that you really are for that title." Minho confidently steps forward and begins to think of several sad thoughts. He finally picks one and acts it out. He looks around. At Mr. Park, his classmates, the walls, everywhere. The thought envelopes his being and within 10 seconds, Minho breaks down and cries, eyeing the place and uttering the lines.

"You…you lied to me…I thought you were….I thought you were for me…." his line goes on and on and his acting is moving, his crying makes everyone tremble in awe. The scene is done and he goes back to his seat. Mr. Park applauds him.

"Very well done Mr. Choi. Now, since all of you here are old students. There are no new students around, I'd like to start the semester with an assignment." the students groan at the sound of the word 'assignment'. They hate it when he gives them one. But Minho is game for it.

He is game for anything.

"I want you guys to write your own script. Just a 3 minute dialogue. And you will present it here on Friday. You have the entire week to do it so be sure to do your homework and present the best you can present. I'll be expecting!" Mr. Park says. The students begin to cram and think but Minho-he's just chill.

He's game for anything.

On another note, Minho has a girlfriend. His girlfriend is Raina also known as Oh Hye Rin. She's a vocal student and is known for her really beautiful sounding voice. Minho has a bad side that only Raina and I know, as far as his bad side is concerned. Raina knows because she's his girlfriend. I know because I'm a writer and I'm obligated to snoop, spy, sneak, eavesdrop, and listen in on other people. That bad side is something that will be revealed later on in this story.

Minho exits the classroom with a breezy disposition. Carefree and confident as he always is. He walks around the campus like he's king and makes all the girls stare at him. He doesn't care. All he's looking for is his girl Raina. Raina is probably done with her vocalization and shit so it's high time that he picks her up. He goes to the other room, the music and vocalization room, and stands outside the room next to the door, waiting for Raina to exit. He waits and waits until he gets bored so just as the class is about to be dismissed, Minho leaves the proximity and heads home, right after promising Raina that he would wait for her and go home with her.

He didn't keep his promise.

What a jerk.

Raina sees him and runs after him. Minho walks away quickly trying to avoid Raina.

"MINHO! MINHO WHAT THE HELL!" Raina yells from afar. Minho ignores her but later turns around to confront her.

"What the fuck took you so long?" he grabs her shoulders and rocks her back and forth.

"What do you mean took you so long? We were vocalizing and practicing in there! Can't a girl pursue her music education! I never complained when you made me wait for you while you were in acting class!" Raina defends.

"Can you move a little bit faster next time? Okay? Don't test my patience, Oh Hye Rin-"

"Raina! I hate it when you call me that. Only my mother calls me Oh Hye Rin!"

"Shut up! You're my girl and I'll call you whatever I want to call you! Next time OH HYE RIN, make it fast!" Minho left her standing in the middle of the hallway.

**PART THREE: **

She walks away from the spot where he left her. Her eyes watery and her pride crushed. Nobody notices her as she picks her things up slowly and runs as fast as she can away from where she once was. She is known in this school as the girl with a very sweet sounding voice, one that resonates and echoes throughout the campus. You know her as Minho's girlfriend. The most beautiful-sounding singer.

Oh Hye Rin.

But nobody knows Oh Hye Rin. They know her better as a feminine version of precipitation.

Raina.

Raina is a weak girl, as you can see. She is standing in the middle of the hallway, bawling her eyes out because her boyfriend refused to listen to what she has just said. She didn't come out of class on time and made Minho wait, angering him and making him leave. Minho won't be talking to her for the next few days. That's the problem between her and Minho. Minho is a very impatient guy. He always wants his way not just with Raina but with other people as well. Maybe because he's used to getting what he wants right away, when Raina fails to do it, he gets angry. And all Raina wants to do is to please Minho because she needs Minho. She says it often. She needs Minho. She loves Minho. She can't live without Minho. Minho makes her world turn.

And I think she's oblivious to the fact that Minho is a playboy and is willing to get with any girl that he thinks is attractive.

And even if she knew, she wouldn't do anything about it. To her, Minho is a god.

What a martyr. If only she knew what Minho was saying about her behind her back, I think she'd think again about committing to Minho.

Her friends Sun Ye and Hye Rim, also members of the Choir Class, chase her out of the school and catch up with her crying on the staircase.

"Raina! Raina what happened?" Sun Ye asks. Raina looks up, her bangs soaking wet with tears and messy because of too much ruffling.

"Mi-Mi-Minho." she replies.

"What did he do to you?" asks Hye Lim. Raina sits up straight and fixes her hair.

"Well, he yelled at me and walked out on me. Left me in the middle of the hallway." she explains. Hye Rim and Sun Ye look at each other and back at Raina.

"And then…"

"And that. That was all." Raina wipes the excess tears off her face. Sun Ye looks at her with a dumbfounded face.

"That was it? You're crying because of that?" Hye Rim exclaims. She gives herself a face palm and places her hand on Raina's shoulder.

"Don't ever, ever, ever cry about things like that again! Please." Hye Rim. "Girl you're so weak. Come on! Have a little pride! Have a little dignity! Don't go around fucking crying about that! Minho's not worth it!'

"Hye Rim's right. Be a little stronger next time around. Minho's not worth your pain." Raina wipes the tears.

"You girls don't understand. It's because you've never had boyfriends before. Once you have yours, you'd say that I was right!" Raina defends her statement but Hye Rim and Sun Ye refuse to believe her.

"Look. Why don't we go to the KTV bar and celebrate what life brings to us, okay. If Minho doesn't love you, just don't care about him!" Sun Ye angrily waves her hands in the air, nearly slapping Raina. Raina slightly smiles and looks down.

"If he's a jerk to you, break up with him. He's not freaking worth it, Raina, I'm telling you!" Hye Rim convinces her friend but for some reasons, Raina prefers to be stubborn.

"But I-"

"Shut up. Shut up girl. If he's like that to you, there's no reason to stay with him." Raina nods and looks at Sun Ye.

"Let's just go to the KTV bar and forget about this thing." she says. The girls cheer and walk to the nearest KTV bar, all three of them singing.

"There's a lot more guys out there that are much better than Minho. You're going to find them soon." Sun Ye advices.

**PART FOUR: **

I made Minho look like a jerk in the previous chapters. But if there's one person besides Raina that really cares about Minho, not just admires but really cares for him, that's his right hand man. His best friend. His best friend is under the voice department but specializes in rapping. He writes his own rhymes and produces his own beats. There's a reason why he entered rapping, though. It's not just because he likes rap music, well aside from that, it's because he has a lot of anger stored in him. And when you mix sick rapping talent with raw emotions of anger, sadness, guilt, and everything negative, you get a very bombastic son of a bitch named Kim Ki Bum.

But don't be calling him Kim Ki Bum. This rapper has his own name and he refuses to be called by his real name.

To open your mind up, let's just call him Key.

There are a lot of questions and mysteries surrounding this young man named Key. His anti-social and somewhat aggressive behavior make him a favorite amongst teachers and guidance counselors, most especially the head guidance counselor. Key has gotten himself into trouble over and over again. It's not to stereotype rappers, it's just saying that Key is a shady person with a questionable past. His past will be revealed through his actions later on. But in the meantime, Key, this young man, is concentrating on his beats.

_Hey, I don't know youKeunyeol moreujiman keunyeoreul weonhaeNareul bburichyeodo keudael jinjjaro weonhaeNamjadeureun modu jimseung neukdae gatdagoEommadeureui gyeongheomdameun midji mallago_

Key reads his beats. He eyes the paper and thinks that his work is of no good. Sensing this, he crumples the sheet of paper and eyes a trash bin standing right in front of him. Like a basketball player, he shoots the paper ball into the trash bin and stands up, angrily picking his back pack up and placing it on his right shoulder, walking away from the place.

Going home is usually burdensome for Key. When he's home, he's either in his room writing raps and producing beats or in the kitchen drinking his father's soju beer. Whenever his mother catches him drinking, she'd grab him by the ear and hit him with anything that she could get her hands on. Be it a broom, her slippers, a book nearby, or what. When his father comes home, he yells at his mother and asks for his beer and when his mother says that Key drank all the beer, he beats her up and calls for Key. Key comes down and receives a beating from his father, him being responsible for all the bruises that are on Key's face.

Key is lucky this time. His parents aren't around and he has the house to himself. Once he's in, he locks the door and angrily throws his bag on the floor. He kneels before it to unzip it and look for his pen and paper. He rushes to his room and locks himself there, blasting loud hip hop music, trying to incorporate the beats he hears to the beats he's writing. Through music and writing, he can vent out his frustrations and produce art.

Key is not afraid to admit that he doesn't have a lot of friends. In fact, Minho and Raina are his only friends and he's not even sure if Raina is really his friend. For all he knows, Raina's just riding along with Minho because as I've said, she cannot live without him. Key finds her annoying, though. He hates the fact that a girl like Raina is so dependent on Minho. Key cannot stand dependence because Key himself has experienced independence when he ran away from home once. Key often wishes to be alone.

What Key wants, Key sometimes doesn't get.

His parents arrive home. And Key is still blasting rap music in his room. He knows how much his parents hate it when he plays loud, hip-hop music. He shuts it off and keeps everything. He fixes his room and pretends to be asleep. He drank two bottles of soju and will be dead if his dad finds out. Key places the blanket over his body and shuts his eyes not so tightly so as not to look as if he's just faking his sleep. His parents enter the house and hell starts to break loose.

"KIBUM! KIBUM!" his drunk and angry mother calls. Key hears this but refuses to get up. Despite being a brave soul, he can feel his heart pounding at the sound of his name.

"KIBUM! WHERE ARE YOU! IF YOU DON'T COME DOWN THIS INSTANT I WILL BE FORCED TO GO UP THERE AND DRAG YOU BY YOUR MOHAWK! COME DOWN HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Key didn't have a Mohawk on that day. His mother surely doesn't know or care about him.

"KIBUM!" his father yells. "COME DOWN NOW!" Key still won't budge but is really nervous now. His parents can't take anymore of his unresponsiveness. They go up and walk towards Key's room. The bust the door open and are surprised with what they see.

"Kibum is asleep. No wonder he's not answering." says the father. Key just waits for his parents to leave his room before waking up. The father and mother exit the room and bang his door. Key cringes in his sleep.

**PART FIVE:**

If there's one boy that's really different from the rest, I mean, in terms of attitude, it's got to be the boy from the Arts Department. He's just quiet, much like most artists who are introverts. He doesn't have that many friends despite being a student in this school for more than 5 years. I guess he just chooses to be that way. I think he's one of the enlightened ones. One of those who actually think and know that there are no more good or decent students left here.

I've seen his works before. They're really nice. Once you see them, you wouldn't say that it was made by a young man. You'd say that it was made by an artist-a professional one. I'd say he's gifted.

Kim Hyun Joong. One of the few decent and talented students in our school. Geez.

I'm quite fond of this guy to be honest with you. He's classmates with my friend Ji Yeon, who's also a quiet artist. Most of the Arts Department students are quiet and decent. I guess in this school, it's automatic that if you're decent, you've got to be either a writer or an artist. Fortunately, that is true. Hyun Joong and Ji Yeon are proofs.

Kim Hyun Joong is working on a new masterpiece. He's currently painting something spectacular that the teacher will post on their wall later on.

"Alright class! Please start wrapping your things up! Today's class is about to end!" says Mr. Jung. Most of the students aren't done with their works yet but when Mr. Jung walks around to check on them, he sees Kim Hyun Joong sitting quietly on his stool, staring at his work.

"Are you finished with your artwork, Mr. Kim?" asks the art teacher. Being the quiet boy that he is, Hyun Joong nods. Mr. Jung crosses his arms in front of his chest and grins.

"Then leave yours behind." he says. Hyun Joong smiles slightly and picks his things up. Ji Yeon-my good friend Ji Yeon-looks at him and smiles. Hyun Joong looks her way and smiles back but turns his head once more to focus on the things he is packing. Ji Yeon looks down in embarrassment as well. I know a little something about Ji Yeon. I'm just going to make this a cliffhanger and leave it for you guys to find out later in the story.

Not much about Hyun Joong, though. He's honestly the most normal guy I know. Most decent even.

Or maybe it's because I don't know him that well yet.

**PART SIX:**

Well, it's come to this. The moment you've been waiting for…not really. If you're really wondering who the hell has been narrating this thing, then wait no longer. Wonder no longer.

The narrator of this piece of shit is me. Tiffany Hwang Mi Young.

I'm Tiffany. I've been a student here since I don't know when. I'm a writer, as I've said. Much like the artists, writers like me are introverted, meaning they prefer to work alone. They value personal space. I value my personal space. That's why I only have one friend that's Ji Yeon. We're both…I don't know, alienated in this school. We have our own world. Obliterated. Isolated. We do our own things and we don't care if people mind us or not. We prefer to hold our own parties, our own meetings, and our own get togethers if you can call it that since we're just two. But it's okay with me and I'm damn sure that it's alright with Ji Yeon. Otherwise, she wouldn't be joining me in my alien escapades.

Why did I choose writing? It's the only thing I'm good at besides singing but I'm not really that confident. I don't have the confidence to sing in front of a crowd. I have horrible stage fright that if you put me on stage, I will get all stiff and I won't move a muscle.

If you're curious about my background, let me tell you that my background is nothing but boring. I've been writing since I was a kid, I prefer it over singing or dancing, and I've been isolated since 1989. I never really had a "best friend". Ji Yeon is not really my best friend. She's just someone who's like me and is longing for a companion. I knew I needed to be with someone so I met up with Ji Yeon and we clicked. But I don't believe that Ji Yeon is my best friend. One day we will move on and Ji Yeon will find another friend that's better and more interesting than me and when that friend of hers asks her "Who was your friend when you were in that Arts School?" she'll answer, "I don't really remember. I think I didn't have one."

I have an adopted sister who's really considering this school. Seo Joo Hyun. I don't know when, how, where, and why my parents adopted her, but I've got to say she's got potential. Seohyun, as I call her, is a very good singer. I'd hear her sing every single day and although it makes my ears bleed, her voice is immaculate and I wouldn't doubt it one bit if she got into this school. Seohyun is friendlier than me. She has a group of girlfriends at her school whereas I never even experienced being with more than one person. Maybe it's because Seohyun is the favorite daughter, that's why she's so confident. She knows she's loved and appreciated. I mean hello! When we were kids, my parents would make her sing at each and every single party we attended. And as for me? My parents never even read a single story that I wrote. How sad.

Now that you know the history of the six key people (myself included), let the story begin.


	2. II

**I.**

"Today we are going to dance hip hop." says Mrs. Joon. The students look at her excitedly because they love hip hop and when someone says hip hop, they automatically think break dancing, popping, locking, waving, liquid dancing, and krumping. Their favorite type of dance. "I know most of you are very familiar with this dance and most of you really dance hip hop so I expect your full cooperation and active participation in the days to come." the class agrees but Yuri's agreement can be read without her nodding her head or saying anything. The look in her eyes says she's game for anything when it comes to dancing. Since Mrs. Joon really loved Yuri's dancing on the first day, she calls for a demonstration from all the students.

"I want each and every one of you here to do a demo dance. Show us what you've got. Show us that you deserve to be here in this class." Park Gahee, the eldest and the best dancer flips her hair to the side and confidently stands up. She walks toward Mrs. Joon and introduces herself.

"To all of you, "she looks at Yuri and gives her the evil eye. Yuri notices this and slightly moves backward. "I am Park Ga-hee. I am the best dancer here. I've been a dancer since I was 12. I trained in all fields be it ballet, jazz, hip-hop. You name it, I can dance it. Cheerdance? Bring it on. I'm not going to dance alone, nuh-uh! I have a real tight crew with me. My real tight crew, please come up here in front and introduce yourselves!" Three other girls stand up and walk toward Gahee. Gahee pulls her iPod out of her pocket and plugs it into the speakers. They wait for the music to play. Yuri tilts her head and stares at them with serious eyes and a pokerface.

**[song: "Hero" by Kim Sori]**

Soo Young, Minzy, Hyun Ah, and leader Gahee position in a straight horizontal line. The begin to grind their bodies to the music, striking poses before stepping forward to demonstrate the first few steps that they have come up with. The boys are going nuts while the girls are shaking their booties to the music.

Minzy and Hyun Ah step forward in time for the chorus. They strike a few more poses before going back to their original position. Gahee then shoves Minzy and Hyun Ah aside so that she could shine in time for the chorus.

The four lovely ladies begin to demonstrate dirty dancing, sitting on the floor or lying on their stomachs posing sexily. Since most of their admirers are guys, they don't really care whether they copied the steps or what. All they're after is the rush. The sexy part is about to come and it's an opportunity for Gahee to arouse the guys and hopefully make the other girls jealous.

Gahee slowly lifts her shirt and grinds to the sexy and naughty part of the song. The guys go woah as the three other girls pose at the back. Gahee also demonstrates some jazz with some gymnastics by flaunting her flexibility. She stretches her legs and even splits for the class. Yuri has no reaction and only keeps thinking about her goal instead of distracting and downing herself by focusing on Gahee's legs and dance steps.

Gahee moves backward and allows her friends to take the stage. Minzy, Hyun Ah, and Soo Young show the class the steps that they thought of before the start of the semester. Minzy's popping is impressive, showcasing fluidity in her body. Hyun Ah's sexy dancing which is much like what Gahee has shown, is equally titillating as the leader's and Soo Young's heavy legwork and fast movements just make the boys dizzy but it is still worth the thrill of watching four hot girls demonstrate their dance.

For the chorus, the girls line up once more and do their dance. Since Gahee is the sexiest amongst the four, she is the one who flaunts the most skin and does the sexiest movements. The four girls pull chairs, one for each girl, and sit on them. The boys know what's coming next.

The four girls sexily danced while sitting on their chairs. Chair dance as it is known. They toss their hair around, gyrate, grind, kick their legs up and make some sexy hand gestures. Yuri is not the least bit afraid of them although you can see doubt forming in her eyes.

The bridge of the song comes next. Since the bridge mainly consists of chanting and hollering, Gahee and the girls decide to give it a hip hop feel by showing off their final weapon: the hard, hip hop part. They kick their chairs aside and begin to move heavily to the bridge part. Their steps are hard and fast and very difficult to follow. Gahee steps forward and sharpens her moves even more in an effort to intimidate Yuri and hopefully scare her into leaving the school. Gahee shows some heavy handwork and gyration; Hyun Ah does some dirty dancing; Minzy flaunts her hip-hop skills; and Soo Young puts her legs to good use by showing off her legwork skills. Yuri could only stare at them.

Their presentation has ended with a pose and they are being applauded by their classmates, surprisingly, including Yuri. Gahee is quite surprised that Yuri is clapping for them whereas they gave her evil eyes when she demonstrated.

"Very well presented Ms. Park Gahee." comments Mrs. Joon. "Now for the rest of you, come forward and show us what you've got. Group or solo, you're welcome to dance." The other students go to the front with their iPods to play their music and show their moves. Hip hop, jazz, sexy dancing, whatever. You name it, they showed it. All the students have presented except for one. Yuri. Yuri remains seated in one corner with her bag on her chest. Nobody wants to talk to her, still. Finally, Mrs. Joon notices Yuri's silences and cajoles her to dance in front.

"Ms. Kwon Yuri. You haven't shown your dance yet. Would you like to come to the front to show us your talent." Yuri looks at Mrs. Joon surprised and stands up. She takes her iPod out of her pocket and plugs it in. Gahee and Hyun Ah who are fixing their hair, look her way and begin to laugh and murmur. Yuri notices this and shakes her head lightly. She tries to stand still but somehow can't stop fidgeting. Yuri waits for her music to come up. Finally, it does.

**[song: "Hurricane Venus" by BoA]**

Yuri starts off with some light motions and later progresses into heavy, hip-hop oriented movements. The class is amazed with what Yuri has done. Gahee tilts her head arrogantly and stares meanly at Yuri. She then shows cheerleading oriented movements. She makes use of heavy handwork, flipping, bending, splitting, and heavy legwork, too. Her gymnastics movements are impressive and she even gives it a hip-hop touch.

For the bridge, Yuri turns sexy. Gyrations, grinding, leg touching, body touching, she did it all. The guys start to stare at Yuri's body and forget that they even watched Gahee. Yuri begins to feel the energy and decides to end her demonstration explosively.

By showing to the class that she can do heavy hip hop. That's just up to you to imagine how.

And pose. Yuri's sexy pose stuns all the students, including Gahee. Gahee angrily drops her makeup bag and walks over to the front with hopes of confronting Yuri. Yuri walks away quickly at the sight of Gahee and her violent eyes. Gahee doesn't let her slip away and walks (not runs) after her. Gahee reaches her and taps her on the shoulder, forcing her to face her.

"Look! I don't care if your dance was better than mine, I'm still the best dancer here, do you understand?" Gahee starts to squeeze Yuri's arm but Yuri pulls away quickly.

"Hey! What's your problem? I ain't doing nothing to you!" Yuri defends. Gahee grits her teeth at Yuri and pushes her, nearly knocking her down.

"To be honest with you," she points at Yuri's collarbone. "Your dance was nothing special. All you did were cheerleading moves. Your hip-hop wasn't even that remarkable!" Gahee insults Yuri but Yuri bites back.

"Well to be perfectly honest with you Ms. Park Ga-hee, your dance was very dirty! Very filthy and very cheap! The four of you looked like strippers desperate for money!" Yuri says. Gahee is taken aback by what she said and slaps Yuri.

"You bitch!" Gahee yells. Yuri scrambles and tries to stand up, her hair all messy and her right cheek blushing red. Everyone looks their way, including Gahee's friends. Of course, Gahee's allies rush to her side and try to help her terrorize Yuri.

"What did this bitch say?" asks the deep-voiced Minzy.

"She said our dance was dirty and we looked like prostitutes!" Yuri is sitting helplessly on the floor with her right hand on her burning red cheek. Gahee's slap really made Yuri collapse on the floor.

"Ha! Well who looks dirty and wasted now, huh?" Soo Young taunts. She grabs Yuri by the hair, Yuri struggles in vain to break free from Soo Young's tight grasp. It's her second day in school and things have already gone bad.

Until rescue comes.

"Hey! Hey Soo Old! Leave her alone!" yells a voice from the back. Soo Young violently releases Yuri, making her collapse on the floor once more. She and her friends look towards the direction of the voice.

Who came to Yuri's rescue?

Nicole Jung.

Gahee, Minzy, Hyun Ah, and Soo Young approach Nicole Jung who is bravely standing in front of them.

"Hey Nikki!" teases Hyun Ah. "Didn't your mama ever tell you not butt in to other people's business?" Nicole crosses her arms in front of her chest and just waits for them to make their move.

"She did, Hyun Ah. She surely did. But that girl's safety is something that shouldn't be neglected. You could've killed her!"

"Ha! Killed? Bitch, she started it!" Gahee defends her side.

"Oh yeah? So the new girl started everything huh? Gahee, I think you should shift to the writing department because really, you're so good at making things up! Who knows the rumors that you spread could become a best seller one day!" Nicole wittily replies. Thanks, but no thanks Nicole. I'm not really interested in having Gahee as my classmate in the Writing Department.

"Shut up, Nikki Jung! You're really getting into my nerves!" Gahee answers back.

"Gahee, we've been classmates for years. Call me Nicole. And what? I'm to believe that the new girl brought the fight in? Please! She's here two days! She doesn't know you girls! How could she possibly start a fight?"

"She called us dirty! There's your answer Ms. Pesky Pants!" Minzy snaps.

"Well actually your dance was dirty. You could've done something better but you opted to seduce the guys and disgust the girls. Because reality check, not all the students here are testosterone-driven! You have female classmates who just found your performance distasteful." Nicole hits back.

"I think you're really looking for a fight, huh?" Soo Young, the bully in the class, steps forward and clutches the collar of Nicole's blouse. Two girls emerge from the back.

"Now you step backward Princess Goliath! Don't you fucking dare touch Nicole like that!" A girl with hair similar to Nicole's steps forward and tries to confront Soo Young. Another one comes out with wavy, brown hair and a beautiful pair of eyes.

They are Min and Hyo Yeon, Nicole's best friends.

"Hah! And what are you gonna do? Step on us?" the four girls erupt laughing.

"No." answers Min. "I'll do better than that!" Min swiftly takes a hold of the garter of Gahee's shorts and pulls them downwards, exposing her panties. The studio erupts in laughter and the guys…well you know how guys are, right? Gahee screams in humiliation as her friends try to cover her up. Soo Young rushes to chase Min who tags Hyo Yeon and Nicole with her. Terrified, flattered, relieved, but still scared, Yuri runs along with them.

Hyo Yeon, Min, Nicole, and Yuri hide in the janitor's storage room. There they laugh silently and cackle at the four girls.

"Bullshit, Min! That was some fucked up pulling down!" Hyo Yeon laughs.

"I know right? Well, they were asking for it so I gave it to them!" Yuri is hyperventilating, caused by running, laughing, and extreme fear.

"Shit…" she starts out of breath "How can I ever thank you girls for saving me! Without you, I would've been dead!"

"That's no shit. They do that all the time." Nicole says. "They like to think that they're better than everyone else. But you really showed them. Your performance was better than theirs."

"Yeah!" agrees Min. "You really showed your talent without being too trashy or what. Congratulations! Welcome to the class!"

"Thanks."

"By the way, what is your name?" asks Nicole.

"Oh. My name is Kwon Yuri. Say, didn't I introduce myself yesterday?"

"We weren't around yesterday. We had to take care of some things. We came in just today. Nice to meet you Yuri!" explains Nicole.

"Nice to meet you too! But I don't really feel like socializing in the janitor's closet. Can we go out?"

"Okay. Let's check first if the girls are still there. Then we can go out. Hyo Yeon, step out and check." Hyo Yeon exits the janitor's closet and carefully scans the campus. Nope. No sign of Gahee and her clique. All is safe.

"Coast is clear ladies! We can go out!" the four girls emerge from the janitor's closet and confidently walk together.

"Just when I thought this day was gonna be the worst day in my life," Yuri says "You girls showed up and defended me. Thanks. Oh and by the way, I don't know your names yet."

"Nicole Jung." says the girl with short hair.

"Lee Min Young. But call me Min." says the other girl with short hair.

"Kim Hyo Yeon." says the girl with long, brown, wavy hair.

"Kwon Yuri." introduces Yuri once again.

"Welcome to the school, Kwon Yuri. Say, why don't we eat lunch together and maybe we can get to know one another even better?" invites Nicole while playfully shaking Yuri's hand. The girls burst out laughing at Nicole's funniness.

"Sure. I don't have any friends yet so thanks guys for volunteering to be the first friends." Yuri says sweetly.

The four walk back to the dance studio talking and laughing. This is the start of a beautiful friendship.

**II.**

Raina is walking down the hallway the following day with a bunch of music books in her hand. She heads for her locker and is surprised to see Minho standing by her locker with his hand resting on it.

"What are you doing here?" asks Raina. Minho removes his hand from the locker and places his hands in his pockets.

"Well I came here to see my beautiful girlfriend Raina." for some reason, Raina feels awkward around Minho.

"Uhm. That's nice, Minho. But I kinda need to be alone right now." Raina sweetly pleads with him. Minho smirks and follows her as she walks away from him.

"Why? Don't you love me anymore?" Minho asks with a cute voice and an even cuter facial expression. This makes Raina giggle lightly.

"Of course I love you. It's just that I need to be alone. Just for today. I really need to do something. Kindly not follow me around. Please, Minho." Raina carefully, sweetly, and nicely pleaded. Minho is now irritated. His eyes irk and his brow raises at the sound of her voice.

"Hey Oh Hye Rin!" he hollers angrily. Raina looks back at Minho with a scared look on her face. She knows what's coming next. She knows better than to test Minho's patience. She knows that whatever Minho wants, Minho gets and if Minho wants to spend time with Raina, Oh Hye Rin better give it to him. "How long has it been since we last bonded? Since we last spent time together? Huh?" Raina walks towards Minho shaking. Minho crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"We haven't…havent' bonded for quite some time…" Raina stutters. Minho takes her wrist and pulls her towards him.

"If you have no desire whatsoever to spend time with the only guy that cares about you, then I suggest you go leave me alone and find another boyfriend who's willing to submit to your petty needs." Minho grunts. Raina takes his hands into hers and begs him not to leave her.

"Please Minho. Don't leave me. I just need to do something. I have a class-"

"Shut up!" Minho breaks free from her grasp. Raina wraps her hands around Minho but he pushes her away. "I don't want to have anything to do with that stupid project of yours. All I'm asking for is a little bit of your time and you still can't give me some. You're a good singer! We get it! There's no need for you to practice!"

"But Minho, this is our assignment. We have to compose something. At least have some concern for your girlfriend's performance. Plus, we have a class after this. If you really love me then you'd let me pursue-" Minho hit Raina and sends her things scrambling on the floor. Raina backs away shocked with her hand on her face and her hair disheveled. The other guys on the campus look on. Minho doesn't care about their stares. He is frustrated that his girlfriend won't spend time with him. Once more, Raina runs in humiliation. Minho looks at the other people staring at him.

"What?" he throws his hands up in the air arrogantly. "Is it your first time to see a guy get angry with his girl?" Minho walks away angrily and slams Raina's locker. Raina hears this and runs faster. The others look away from Minho and follow Raina with their eyes.

Raina runs past her friends Sun Ye and Hye Rim with her hands over her face. Sun Ye and Hye Rim run after her but Raina runs to the bathroom and locks herself in. Hye Rim bangs on the door, begging Raina to open it.

"Raina, please! Open the door! It's Hye Rim!" Sun Ye knocks next and calls her out.

"Raina. What are you doing! Please don't lock yourself in there!" Sun Ye begs. Raina leans on the door to block it and cries out loud. So loud her friends can hear it. Raina reaches for the door knob and opens the bathroom door, letting her friends in while still sitting helplessly on the floor crying her eyes out. Hye Rim and Sun Ye enter the bathroom and try their best to comfort Raina.

"What the hell happened to you?" Sun Ye asks. "What is it about this time?"

"You've been crying and crying for days! What's happening?"

"Minho…" Raina says. "Minho slapped me this morning!" Raina continues to cry. Her friends look at her shocked and embrace her.

"He did that to you?" Sun Ye asks angrily. "And what did you do next?"

"I ran all the way here!" Raina replies.

"Well why did you allow him to? Honey, if you think he's actions violate your rights you better step up to him and tell him to stop!" Sun Ye reprimands her friend. Raina just won't stop crying. Not because of the pain Minho gave her by slapping her but because of the emotional pain that Minho is putting her through.

"I just can't. You don't understand." Raina sobs. Hye Rim holds her close and lets her lean on her shoulder.

"We understand."

"How can you?" Raina pushes Hye Rim away and looks at Sun Ye with piercing, angry, scorned eyes. "You girls never had boyfriends, how could you say that?" Raina stands up and pushes her friends away, leaving them in the bathroom. The two are dumbfounded at how Raina could make a fool out of herself just for a guy who treats her like chicken shit.

"Raina is a weak, weak, pitiful girl." Hye Rim utters without blinking or taking her gaze off of Raina.

"I know. She's such an idiot. I can't believe she's that way." Sun Ye agrees. The two girls step out and try to look for Raina.

Look what she's doing.

The two girls see Raina trying her hardest to make Minho forgive her. They know-because they're her classmates in voice class-that Raina has to do something. They all have to do something. But look at what Raina's doing. Sticking to Minho after what he just did to her.

"Minho! Minho! Okay. I'm not gonna do my homework anymore. I'll just go wherever you will go." Raina says in between sobs.

"Finally! You've come to your senses. Wow! All it takes is a hit across the face. Maybe I should hit you often." this scared Raina, but she nonetheless doesn't mind. She'd rather be hit by Minho than to be alone.

"I'm really sorry Minho. I should've never argued with you." Raina says sheepishly. "Come on, I'll tell Mr. Lee that I'm sick so we can hang out together."

"You better be sorry. Because you're really gonna regret it the next time you fuck around with me. Come on! I'mma take you somewhere!" Minho grabs her wrist and pulls her with him. Sun Ye and Hye Rim look on, shaking their heads.

"I'll give her 4 weeks to live." Hye Rim walks away.

"Screw you! I'll give her 4 minutes!" Sun Ye replies.

**III.**

If you're really curious about my life, then I'm going to write it here for you. I'm a loner. Well not really because I have Ji Yeon but as I've said, Ji Yeon is NOT my best friend. I see her as a mere acquaintance. Someone I just met and will forget later on. I don't really know if she sees me that way but the thing is, I don't see her as someone special. To me, nobody's special. We're all the same. Now, if you're curious about the things we talk about, well wonder no more.

"Tiffany! Tiffany!" Ji Yeon calls. I find the way she pronounces my name funny. She went like 'Tiff-eny. Tiff-eny." Well who am I to judge? Ji Yeon's accent is different from mine. I wasn't born here. Anyways, I hear her call and look her way. I knew it was Ji Yeon calling because the voice doesn't lie. The sweet, childish, soft voice that can either irritate or please someone, depending on who that someone is. I walk towards her and ask her what she wants.

"What now?" I ask. Ji Yeon smiles excitedly with her hands clasped together on her chest, as though she was praying.

"I have some good news for you! I'm sure you'll love it!" Ji Yeon says.

"What is it?"

"I swear you're gonna love it!" she squeals once more. I get impatient and semi-yell at her.

"Okay I'm gonna love it. But I won't be able to love it unless you tell me, right? So what is it?"

"I signed you up for the essay writing contest! That'll be in 3 weeks."

My brain went dead. My heart stopped beating. My breathing ceased. My blood stopped flowing.

Bull. Shit.

Pause. Rewind. Stop. Play.

What did Ji Yeon just say?

"You did what?"

"I signed you up for the essay writing contest. You've always wanted to write an essay and enter it in a contest ,right? So I signed you up."

"And…"

"And! And the theme is about Gender Equality. You're a good writer, Tiffany. You can manage that."

I fake a smile. Ji Yeon thinks I'm happy as shit but if she could only hear the words in my head, I think she wouldn't think that way.

"You are the best person that has ever come to my life." I'm in a daze. I don't know what I'm saying.

"I know! Isn't it great?" I snap out of my stupor and place a hand on Ji Yeon's shoulder. I lead her to the bench next to the lockers.

"Ji Yeon, do you know the word "consent"?" I ask her.

"Sure. That's when-" I raise my hand, gesturing her to not explain it.

"Of course you do. There's no need to define it for me. Well, when you signed me up, where was I?"

"I think you were busy roaming around the campus looking for subjects to write about. Am I right?"

"I suppose." I place a hand on my chin. Silence reigns for a minute. Then the talking resumes.

"Let us say that I was roaming around at the time." I continue "Did you ask for my consent?"

"Uhm…no." Ji Yeon's voice softens.

"You. Have you ever joined a contest?" Ji Yeon nods.

"Right. And how would you feel if I entered you name without your consent and told you that you would be competing in two, three weeks, painting with a theme you're not familiar with. How would _**you**_ feel?"

"I think I'd feel bad."

"There you go! So why did you sign me up without asking for my consent?"

"Because I thought of your desire. I knew you always wanted to compete in an essay writing contest so the moment I saw it, I jotted your name down. And you're competitor number 1."

"See the bullshit that comes when you don't think?" I grit my teeth at her. I can see the terrified look on Ji Yeon's face. Let's face it. Ji Yeon's afraid of me. "Not only am I going to compete. Not only am I going to compete in three weeks. Not only am I going to write with a theme that I don't give two pieces of shit about. I'm the first one to compete."

"I'm really sorry. I just-"

"Is there a way to back out?"

"I read the rules there. No."

"Thanks a lot!"

"But it's worth the-"

"Ji Yeon." I take her by the shoulders and shake her. "When you're the number 1 writer in your class, people are going to expect from you. And if their expectations are not met, you're dead meat. Plus, I'm not like you. I'm not the kind of person who's content with losing and just accepting defeat gracefully llike the crap you showed when you competed in the painting contest. You see, we're two different people, Park Jee. I have a winner's mentality. You….you're a scatterbrain."

Proof that Ji Yeon's not my friend.

"I'm sorry. I just thought you-"

"You find a way to get me out of that competition. If you have to cut my head off and throw it in the ocean, do so. Just get me out of that thing. I'm too stressed to do research on gender equality…"

"But gender equality is an easy topic. You can do it."

"If it's really that easy, why don't you enter yourself. You should've just done that if you think the topic's really a piece of cake!" I stand up and walk away from Ji Yeon, my mind a mess.

"Tiffany-"

"Fuck you!" I say without looking back. I leave Ji Yeon sitting on the bench confused and nervous.

Proof that Ji Yeon is not my friend.

**IV.**

After the hellish incident with Ji Yeon, I try to cool myself down by going to the bathroom and washing my very pale face that paled because of Ji Yeon's stupidity. As soon as I finish, I walk to my locker when my eye catches a glimpse of Hyun Joong walking toward Ji Yeon with his canvas under his arm. Ji Yeon is also an art student so I think they'd have much to talk about considering the fact that they like the same things. Hyun Joong sits next to her and Ji Yeon takes notice but is too shy I guess to strike a conversation with him. So she just sits prettily and waits for him to make the first move.

And he does.

"Hi! You're Ji Yeon, right?" Ji Yeon looks at him and brushes some strands of hair away from her face.

"Yeah. You're Hyun Joong. The best artist in our class." Ji Yeon says. Hyun Joong blushes at her compliment.

"Thanks. You're not a bad artist yourself. I've seen your works and they're pretty remarkable." Hyun Joong says with a soft voice. Ji Yeon could only blush. You can really see the sparks in Ji Yeon's eyes. Hyun Joong, I don't know but it's in Ji Yeon's eyes, definitely.

Is my vision deteriorating or am I seeing my best friend fall in love? It's kinda awkward because Ji Yeon never fell in love before and like me, she's really awkward with boys and she hates boys but I think Hyun Joong is a different story.

"So. You're Kim Hyun Joong, huh?" Ji Yeon asks stupidly. She twirls her hair in her finger, a very obvious sign that she's checking Hyun Joong out and is liking what she is seeing.

"Uhm. I already introduced myself to you. You're Ji Yeon Park. I mean, Park Ji Yeon." Ji Yeon smiles at him. He smiles back.

"Say, where's your best friend, what's her name?" Hyun Joong doesn't even know me.

"Tiffany."

"Yeah, Tiffany. Where is she?"

"I don't know. She went away or so." Ji Yeon is lost. I told her where I was going.

"Wanna take a walk around the campus?" Hyun Joong invites. Ji Yeon giggles and blushes and agrees. The two stand up and walk away.

I stand there and watch them with my mouth half open.

**V.**

The same day, I see Key walking down the hall with a bruised face. I feel the urge to approach him and ask him what happened but since Key and I aren't really friends, I choose not to. Key angrily makes his way to the classroom with his notebooks and things in hand. The furious expression on his face doesn't lie. Someone fucked around with him last night. And I'm guessing it was his parents.

Key opens the door and slams it, shocking everyone inside. The professor sees a battered-looking Key sit down and glare at him.

"Mr. Kim Kibum, is everything alright?" asks Mr. Lee, the professor.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Key says. "What does it look like to you? Do you think I look okay?" he swears under his breath.

Hye Rim, who is seated next to Key, feels the urge to ask him about last night. She bites her lip and plays with her fingernails and finally, when she has summoned the courage to ask the badass rapper about his hellish ordeal, she taps him on the shoulder.

"Key, are you okay? What happened?" Hye Rim asks with concern. Key turns his head to her direction and glares evilly at her.

"Where's Raina?" he digresses from the question. Since Hye Rim knows better than to piss off an angry Key, she just answers his question.

"She skipped. She went with Minho. Why do you ask."

"I need to talk to Raina. It's about Minho. He's the reason why."

"What? What did he do?" Hye Rim asks worried.

"It's not for you to know. I just need Raina right now. Where is she and why did she skip? How?"

"She told Mr. Lee that she's sick and her mom's about to pick her up. Her unbelievable acting forced Mr. Lee to allow her to go home. Guess being with Minho has benefits too, huh?"

"I need to talk to Raina."

"Raina's been emotionally distressed recently." butts Sun Ye. "With Minho's manipulative behavior and all. Raina can't help but feel stressed. Earlier he forced her to skip the second class so they could hang out. I think Minho skipped, too."

"Bullshit!" Key half-yells. Mr. Lee doesn't hear him.

"Just tell us, Key. I swear this won't get past the three of us, make the four including Raina." Hye Rim persuades.

"Alright. It's like this…" Key takes around "You know my parents are conservative, right? They're religious and idealistic. I'm the opposite of my parents. I'm rebellious and liberal. So Minho and I were chatting last night on the Net. We were talking about nothing in particular when a dirty thought popped up in Minho's head. He told me to visit a certain pornography site. I said I didn't want to but he kept on forcing me. I was about to log off when he spammed me with tons of porn pictures. Non-stop. Minho was like a monster. He even bragged about replacing Raina with those girls. He also bragged about his parents not caring about his porn escapades and his porn collection stuffed in the nooks and crannies of his locker. He just bombarded me with porn and it was late then, around 12:00 midnight and my parents were wondering why my lights were still on. Minho kept on spamming and as soon as I sensed them entering, I tried to log off but the computer was too slow…"

"Woah. Brain jog." Sun Ye says.

"What happened next?" Hye Rim asks.

"My parents saw the porn. And as devout Christians, you know how they are towards porn. I tried to explain but they wouldn't listen. They just grabbed me and beat me up, hence the bruises."

"Devout? What the-" Sun Ye exclaims. "If they're really that religious they wouldn't hurt you."

"I know. But I guess some people are just too religious."

"Shit. I can't believe you got bruised and beaten because of porn!"

"I can't believe it either. But what's more unbelievable is what Minho said. His parents don't care about his porn escapades. Bullshit!"

"Bullshit indeed. For all Raina knows, Minho could be doing some nasty things behind her back. You know what I mean, right?"

"There. Now you know. Tell Raina…"

"Okay."

"And another…"

"What?" the two girls ask.

"My parents might pull me out of this school. They don't really see anything good in what I'm doing. They think rapping is evil."

"No!" Sun Ye says. "Don't drop out. You've got potential, Key. Don't let your talent go to waste! Besides, what'll they do or where'll you go after they've pulled you out?"

"A devout Christian school." Key answers. "Not that it's bad. Well it is but it's not bad because it's Christian. It's bad because you're right. My talent and dreams will go to waste if I spend my life in boarding school. What's the use of my talent in rapping and writing rhymes if I can't use it?"


	3. III

_**I.**_

_**[THE FOLLOWING DAY]**_

_**Yuri heads to the dance studio to practice her moves. She and her newfound friends Nicole, Min, and HyoYeon choreographed. Since Nicole and Min are busy reserving their food at the cafeteria and HyoYeon's busy mixing songs in the computer lab, Yuri is practicing alone. **_

_**[song: "Lollipop 2" by Big Bang]**_

_Yuri is wearing a white, sleeveless crop tank top, exposing her flat stomach and red baggy jogging pants with white rubber shoes. Yuri moves ever so gracefully to the music, feeling every note and melody. Yuri gyrates, pops, locks, drops, bends, spins around, shakes her hips, and rotates her head, sending her beautiful raven black hair tossing around. Yuri is just plain beautiful and sexy when dancing. _

_I'm not having lesbian thoughts. I'm just describing Yuri's manner of dancing in detail. Remember, I'm the omniscient narrator here. _

_Just then, the door creaks open. Yuri cannot hear it since the music is turned way up high. The noise allows the stranger to stealthily enter the room and watch the 5'5" mocha skinned beauty dance to her death. The stranger leans on the wall and folds his arms across his chest. He smiles at the sight of Yuri's body and her carefree spirit. Just then, Yuri senses his presence and turns to her right. She sees him._

_Choi Minho. The super playboy._

"_Hi!" Minho says. He walks to Yuri and stands in front of her. Yuri wipes the sweat on her forehead and smiles back while panting._

"_Hey there. What's your name?" she asks._

"_Minho. Choi Minho. Have you heard of me?_

"_I think. Oh! You're the acting student! I know you! I just forgot your name!" Yuri says._

"_Yep! That's me alright. I've not heard of you. Nor have I seen you before. Are you new here?"_

"_Yes. I'm new here. Just moved in a few weeks ago. Started studying here just a few days ago."_

"_How do you like the school?" Minho inches closer to her and places a hand on her shoulder. Yuri's eyes widen in shock. Never has a total stranger placed a hand on her shoulder, let alone touch her._

"_Uhm…"Yuri backs away from Minho. Minho walks towards her and takes her wrist. Yuri then tries to struggle without being noticed. "I-I like it. Here. Yeah." his touch distracts her as she tries to pull away. Minho's stronger, obviously. He leads her to the bench and sits with her._

"_Hey sweetpea. I'm a touchy feely guy but that doesn't mean I want to do you, okay? I like touching girls. That's how friendly and accommodating I am. It doesn't mean a thing, don't you worry. It's a sign of friendship, trust me. I wouldn't hurt a girl like you." Yuri smiles and looks at Minho who winks at her. Yuri's bones feel the chill. _

"_Uh, yeah. Okay. But it's just uncomfortable." Yuri blurts._

"_I'll try to make it comfortable for you." Minho leans in closer to Yuri who bends a little in order to avoid his lips. "I always know how to make things look and feel_ right." Yuri lightly pushes him away and sits up straight. 

"Hey! You have a girlfriend, don't you?" she asks. "Because I think I saw you once with a girl. The girl had short hair and-"

"Yes. She's my girlfriend. Her name's Raina and I think she's…" Minho looks around and leans in closer to Yuri's ear to whisper it. "Pathetic." Yuri is taken aback by what Minho has said. 

"Wow. You're mean. How could you say that to your girlfriend?" 

"I'm not being mean. I'm just being honest." Minho shrugs. "There are times when Raina's just so darn stupid you want to hit her."

"Well if I were you, I wouldn't hit her, let alone call her names. I love her too much to do that!" Minho rubs his chin and thinks of a new topic to start.

"You're a dancer, huh?"

"Yeah. Well you just stood there earlier and watched me dance. So obviously, yeah. I'm a dancer."

"I'm an actor and in acting class, we do a little bit of dancing. Mind showing me how to dance, Ms. Kwon?" Yuri feels awkward but accepts. 

"Well you have to play some music. You got any good tunes there, Minho?" Minho takes his cellphone out and browses swiftly for some songs. Yuri tries to reach for it but Minho moves his arm away.

"Hey! Can I see your phone! I'll look for some tunes!" Yuri tries to grab Minho's phone but Minho keeps on moving away.

"Stop being so pesky! I asked for it so I'm gonna look for it." Truth is, Minho's just trying to hide the porn wallpaper and the other obscene things on his phone. Yuri moves away and brushes a strand of hair away from her face.

"Sorry." Yuri says. "Go ahead. I was just curious about your phone." 

"That's no big deal. Just let me choose, okay? There are some songs here that I might need for interpretation day on Monday. So it'd be of great help if you could choreograph for me."

"Sure. But I've got some things to do." Yuri says. "Like I have to practice our choreography for the classroom dance group contest. Just within the walls of this dance studio we call our classroom."

"Ooh. So you're gonna be competing against the other groups in your class?"

"Yep."

"And what'll happen to the winner."

"I don't know the mechanics yet. But all I know is that the top two highest scorers will compete against each other and other groups in the Dance Competition come this January. I'm just not sure."

"Wow. Then good luck! You've got loads of potential I think you're gonna take home the prize!" Minho compliments exaggeratedly. "I mean, you're the best dancer out there. I don't even have to watch the other groups' performances." Yuri frowned at his sarcasm. She knows he's being sarcastic (he really is. Minho is a sarcastic fellow.)

"Now thanks, Minho. But honestly, saying that I'm the best out there is kind of wrong. You haven't seen the others yet so don't judge." Yuri runs her hand through her hair. 

"What? Now come on Yuri! You're the perfect package! Don't feel so darn down about it! You're beautiful, you're sexy, you-"

"DO YOU WANT ME TO TEACH YOU OR NOT?" Yuri yells. Minho shuts up and looks at her with his round eyes.

"Yeah. I do want you to teach me."

"So shut up and stop your sarcasm!"

"But I wasn't being-" Yuri walks over to Minho and leans in closer. She points a finger at him and with a angry expression on her face and gritted teeth, she says,

"You don't know me, Minho. You just met me. So shut up boy!" Yuri pushes his nose with her finger, humiliating Minho.

Wow. That's all it took for Minho to feel embarrassed. Minho plays the song on his phone.

"Play it and pay attention" Yuri says with a slight hint of frustration in her voice. 

**[song: "U R Man" by SS501]**

"What are you supposed to do with this song?" 

"We're supposed to interpret it. Now interpretation ain't hard for me, it's just that, dancing is needed."

Yuri stares at the wall and thinks. She looks into the huge mirror in front of them. For some reason, Yuri can't think properly. 5 minutes have passed and yet Yuri is still standing there with her hands on her hips. Minho is getting impatient. 

"What? Are you gonna teach me or are you just gonna stand there and pose in front of the mirror?" Yuri turns around and slaps Minho's arm. Minho feels the pain and rubs his arm. 

"Hey! Listen to me, Choi Minho. This ain't my problem. I'm not an acting student. I don't know why you came to me to ask me to choreograph your stupid interpretation! It's your homework so do it! Don't come asking someone else to do your work for you while you sit around and daydream about your girlfriend!" Yuri's really angry now. 

"Chillax, Kwon!" Minho pauses the music. "I was just asking for a slight favor."

"Reality check, Minho. You don't know me 24 hours. You just met me. And you have the guts to ask me to help you with your interpretation? If you were nicer, maybe I would but since you're such a jerk that you rush me, you praise me sarcastically, and you get angry when you don't get what you want, then no way! To hell with you!" 

"God! I hate difficult girls like you!" Minho groans. He places a hand on his skull cap. 

"Really? Well I hate abusive guys like you!" Yuri yells back. She gathers her things and begins to walk out of the dance studio with her blood boiling.

"Go back to where you came from!" Minho hollers. Yuri walks out of the door and upon hearing this, her blood begins to boil. Her temper has reached its boiling point. Trying her best to remain cool so as not to garner a bad reputation, she calmly turns her head to Minho's direction and says in the classiest way ever,

"Fuck you, Choi Minho." she leaves the room and slams the door. Minho cringes and exhales heavily in frustration. 

And this is where he discovers that not all girls are like Raina. There are some girls who are tough and refuse to be under Choi Minho's spell.

Girls like Kwon Yuri. 

**II.**

Back to my situation. So Hyun Joong and Ji Yeon are probably walking around the campus, thus leaving the bench empty. I sit on the bench with my notebook in hand, jotting my thoughts down. I feel someone sit on the other side of the bench. My eyes try to look that person's way but I stop myself from doing so. I continue to write my essay entry when the person that is seated next to me inches closer and closer. I try to move to give that person some space when a hand appears on the top part of my notebook and pulls it downward.

It's Hyun Joong. I thought he was with Ji Yeon.

"Hey! Where's Ji Yeon? I thought you were with her?" I ask. 

"Nah. She got too bored and left. I don't know where she is now." Hyun Joong replies. "Say, what have you got there?"

"Nothing." I hold the notebook close to my face. I don't want him to read whatever it is that I'm writing. 

"What do you mean nothing? You've got something there. Can I see?' Hyun Joong pleads with puppy eyes. I smile and curse in my mind before giving the notebook to him. He takes it and thanks me. I look at him, watching him flip the pages ready to stop him from reading any embarrassing things that I wrote there. He stumbles upon my recent entry. 

"Hey! This is cool!" Hyun Joong exclaims as he reads my Gender thingy article.

"Thanks. But it's not done yet."

"I don't care. I think it's a winner!" 

"Winner? Wha-" I think he's pertaining to my entry for the contest.

"Yeah. Ji Yeon told me you're gonna be participating in the essay writing contest come Talent Month."

"Shut up! They'll probably cancel that essay thingy. I mean, who gives importance to writers anyways?" I take the notebook from him and continue writing my article.

"I do." 

"You do?" I ask puzzled. Hyun Joong nods.

"Sure I do. Writing is just like art. The two most subtle talents in the world."

"Subtle talents." I shake my head. "Yeah right. Besides, I didn't sign up for that thing. Ji Yeon entered my name without my permission. I only found out about it a few minutes ago." 

"You'll do good. I can see it in the article you're writing." Hyun Joong compliments. For some reason, I can feel his sincerity.

"You sure? Because I'm not gonna enter this piece of shit." 

"It's not a piece of shit."

"Who are you to say that?" 

"It's my opinion so respect it!" Hyun Joong replies a little angrily. "You should be thankful that someone's praising your work!" 

"Well thank you!" 

"You're sarcastic and difficult. Like a real writer."

I look at him and think of a response.

"You're shady and mysterious. Like a real artist."

We look at each other and laugh at what we just said.

"Fuck it! You're cool!" we say at the same time. Hyun Joong's not that boring after all. I mean, he talks some sense and is really smart as opposed to the other art students who are either shy or stupid.

"Say, you doing anything tonight?" asks Hyun Joong. My heart skips a beat not because I like Hyun Joong as something more than a friend but because it feels awkward having a guy you just talked to ask you out.

"Nope. Why?" I answer nervously.

"Because I'd like you to help me create something for my Talent Month entry. Usually, I collaborate with writers for ideas on what to draw or paint but since most of my writer friends are out and busy, would you like to help me. I mean, you're Ji Yeon's friend and Ji Yeon's my friend, if you want the three of us can work together. You two can come over to my place and we can work there." I blink slowly with my mouth half-open.

"Okay. I guess I won't be doing anything tonight. Sure. I'll come over." 

"That's great! I'll be expecting you! Bye!" Hyun Joong takes off, leaving me behind. I continue to write my entry. 

**III.**

Yuri walks furiously down the hall with her things in her right hand. You can really see the angry expression on her face. She nearly drops her things in frustration. Min, Nicole, and HyoYeon catch up with her and take notice of the sour look on her face.

"What the hell happened to you? You were happy just a while ago. What's up with the angry face?" asks Nicole. She grabs Yuri's arm but Yuri pulls away from her friend's grasp. 

"You don't need to know. It was too stupid." Yuri answers. Her friends are shocked by what she said and how she said it. 

"What is wrong with you!" Min says while chasing Yuri. 

"It's Minho." she blurts out. The girls gasp and look at one another.

"Min-ho?" asks HyoYeon doubtfully. 

"Yeah. Choi Minho. The acting student. Do you know him?" 

"The maniac?" Min says.

"The playboy?" HyoYeon asks.

"The idiot." Yuri answers. "I was in the dance studio and he came and asked if I could teach him how to dance for his song interpretation."

"And then?"

"And then, while I was thinking, he got mad and snapped at me. He told me how he was getting impatient waiting for me to finish thinking and he wanted me to help him and he called it useless. He's an asshole." Yuri shakes her head and tries to walk away from her finds who walk after her.

"God! I didn't know he was an asshole!" HyoYeon says. "And to think I used to have a really huge crush on him." The others look at her with strange gazes.

I stare at them myself. HyoYeon had a crush on Minho? That asshole? Well he's a pretty good looking son of a bitch so I can't blame HyoYeon for having a crush on him then. 

"You used to like Choi Minho?" Min asks. HyoYeon looks at her and nods. "Sure. A lot of girls love him. They'd die for him, you know!"

"Minho's not really that handsome. To me, it's just the way he carries himself. The guy knows how to dress." Nicole digresses. 

"So he's metro sexual?" asks Min

"Homosexual." Yuri answers. "He's gay!" 

"He is?" asks HyoYeon with a hint of innocence in her eyes.

"Goddammit he's gay!" Yuri furiously walks away from her friends and into the shower room. She slams the door shut, shocking her friends.

"Oh. My. Gosh." HyoYeon says. The other two look at her and look back at the door before turning away. 

[A FEW MINUTES AFTER HER SHOWER]

Yuri emerges from the room all dressed up when a surprise greets her. 

Choi Minho. 

Yuri is shocked as hell and throws her bag at him. It's actually a combination of shock and anger. She's shocked because Minho is standing right outside the girls' locker room.

"What the fuck are you doing here, you asshole? Didn't I send you away?" Yuri yells out loud, her voice echoing throughout the entire locker room. Luckily, she and Minho are the only people around. 

"I'm just waiting for my apology. Walking out on me like that? Tsk. Bad girl." Minho grabs her arm. Yuri pulls away swiftly and pushes Minho.

"Don't touch me you narcissistic bastard!" Yuri yells and points at him. Minho lowers her finger and makes a 'no' sign with his pointer.

"What you did earlier was very rude. I'm just here for some retribution." Minho says coyly.

"Retribution your dick, you son of a bitch!" Yuri yells. Minho is taken aback by what she has said. Minho smirks at her and inches closer, hoping to harass her. 

"Girl, where'd you come from? You so spunky, ay!" Minho touches her hips. Yuri kicks his knees. Minho bends in pain and winces.

"From the pits of your worst nightmare!" Yuri laughs at his pathetic-ness and walks away. Minho sees her walking away and tries his best to stand up despite of the pain that Yuri has inflicted on him.

"Oh no you don't, bitch!" Minho finally stands up and chases Yuri. Yuri smiles and laughs at first but when she sees Minho's face and sees the look on it-the angry look on it-she starts to run really, really fast.

She knows that Minho means harm.

Yuri tries to run as fast as she can around the campus. Classes are going on and all their running's disrupting them. Yuri looks back occasionally to see if Minho's catching up. Bad news for her, he is. 

"Go away, Minho!" Yuri says panting. "I don't want to have anything to do with you! You brought this all on yourself!" 

"To hell with your rants, bitch! I'm gonna have you! I'm gonna get you one way or another! I don't care how!" Minho yells. They pass by the Voice Department.

Raina's department.

The teacher hears all their ruckus and steps outside. He sees Minho and Yuri chasing each other, yelling expletives at each other. 

"You whore! Come back here!" Minho yells.

"Fuck you! I'm no whore!" Yuri yells back. The music teacher steps out and stops them. The other students peek outside their door to check on what's going on.

Raina is shocked with what she sees. 

"THE TWO OF YOU! STOP RUNNING RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" demands the music teacher. Yuri stops and Minho stops behind her, pushing her forward and making her fall to the ground.

"Ouch!" some students help Yuri up but Yuri's coldness is shown when she pulls away from the student's grasp. "Let me go! I don't know you." The student backs away with his hands in front of him.

"What's going on here? Why were the two of you running? Chasing each other? Don't you two know that classes are going on? Don't go around running like you own the place!" The teacher eyes Yuri and points at her.

"Especially you, miss!" Yuri backs up. Raina looks at her with angry eyes. "I've not seen you around before. You're new here, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Well isn't it obvious? You just said it yourself." Yuri answers sarcastically. The teacher gets even more angry.

"That's no way to talk to a teacher here, young lady. What department do you belong to?"

"Dance Department." Yuri answers. 

"This will not get past Mrs. Joon!" the teacher says. Yuri's eyes widen in fear. She scans the place for her friends but finds no one she knows. She is surrounded by people who have voices. The singers. She continues to scan the place when her eyes meet Raina's. That's when mental chaos breaks loose.

"Woah. Sorry." Yuri apologizes. The teacher looks at her and tells the class to go back inside the room. Yuri watches the students and stalks Raina. Raina glances at Yuri and flips her hair. Yuri is dumbfounded.

"_What the hell's her problem and she keeps on looking at me like that?"_ Yuri walks away.

"_What the hell's her problem and she's going around playing with my boyfriend. Who the hell does she think she is? New girl!" _Raina enters the classroom last and slams the door. Yuri snaps back into reality. 

"W-who is she?" she asks Minho. Minho wipes the side of his mouth and shakes his head.

"Who she?"

"The girl who kept on staring at me earlier. Who she?" 

"The one with short hair?"

"Yeah."

"She's my girlfriend." 

"Oh? So she's…Rihanna?"

"Raina." 

"Oh. She looks mean. What's her problem?"

"She's insecure. She hates it when I talk to other girls or spend time with other girls or fuck around with other girls. She hates it when I interact with girls aside from herself."

"Oh. She's pretty narrow. Not to mention immature. She doesn't have to put meaning to everything that happens between you and another girl. I'm not just speaking for myself."

"I know. It sucks to have her as a girlfriend. But I'd rather have a girlfriend than to be called gay." Yuri's eyes widen and she looks at him.

"You get called gay? But you're a Casanova! You can't be gay! You like girls!" 

"I'm a real stylish guy and people mistake that for homosexuality. That's why I date. Bout you? You date?"

"Nah! Dating's not for me. Dancing's more I like it."

"Whatever."

"Whatever your face."

"Where'd you get all that spunk?"

"I don't know. It's one of my hidden talents, I guess." 

"Nice one." Minho looks at Yuri and Yuri eyes him back. "Say, sorry for the jerkiness that I pulled off. It'll never happen again, I swear. If I shit you one more time, you can behead me." 

"Nah, it's okay. I'm used to being shat on. Or fucked around with, to put it in less disgusting terms. I'm used to being underestimated by other people. So you don't have to say sorry."

"I guess that's why you're so tough." Minho starts to walk. Yuri runs after him to catch up.

"Wha-what?" 

"I said, I guess that's why you're so tough. You have a lot of anger in you." 

"You know what?" Yuri looks at him. 

"What?"

"You're not so bad after all. I think we'd make really good friends."

"What makes you say that?"

"Hey, you're a jerk. I'm a jerk. We're jerks. We can fuck around and fool around! Ain't that great?"

Minho and Yuri laugh at their zaniness and give each other high fives.

**IV.**

Raina is sitting in Voice Class sobbing like a baby. Her friends Hye Rim and Sun Ye comfort her. 

"MINHO'S RUNNING AROUND WITH SOME WHORE?" Raina cries. The other students look at her and listen to what she's saying while the others prefer to ignore their resident drama queen whose boyfriend has influenced her in acting. 

"Raina, they were angry with each other. You heard the way they talked and blamed each other. They were angry, alright. There's nothing going on between them." Sun Ye reassures her friend.

"EVEN THOUGH! MINHO'S PLAYBOYING AROUND AGAIN! HE HAS A SECRET PLAN! IF YOU GIRLS THINK THAT HE'S REALLY ANGRY WITH HER, THEN YOU'RE WRONG! HE HAS A SECRET PLAN FOR THAT DANCING WHORE!" Raina weeps like someone has died. 

"Look, Raina, if you really want to clarify this thing and clear the air, talk to Minho about it. If their 'fight' is really bugging the shit out of you then talk to him." Hye Rim advices.

"OH I'M NOT JUST GONNA TALK TO THEM!" Raina yells and stands up, catching everyone's attention. "I'MMA DO BETTER THAT!" Raina storms out of the classroom in search of Minho and Yuri. The class remains quiet after that.

"So that's what Raina's like when she's angry." Hye Rim whispers to Sun Ye. 

"I've seen that girl before." says Sun Ye.

"I know. I think she's the one they call 'Kwon Yuri'?" 

"Yeah. Oh shit! That Kwon Yuri's a flirt, man!"

Raina furiously walks the hallway, looking for her boyfriend and his 'mistress'. Since there are classes going on, there are only a few students walking around, most of which stare at Raina and her clacking high heels. 

Finally, Raina finds the two. Minho and Yuri. Minho has his arm around Yuri and this infuriated Raina even more. She goes to them and taps their shoulders. Minho and Yuri are taken aback and surprised.

"Minho, who is this?" Raina points at Yuri. Yuri shoves her finger away and talks to her.

"Well excuse me, miss. I'm Kwon Yuri. You don't have to demand my name from him. You can get it from me." 

"Kwon Yuri, I've not heard of you before." Raina says. "But I already have an impression of you. You're a whore, you know! That's my boyfriend you're walking with!" Yuri is surprised with what Raina said and lashes back at her.

"I'm not flirting with him. I'm just walking with him. I don't see anything wrong with that!" Yuri says.

"Keep your hands off my boyfriend, you little bitch!" Raina demands. She pulls Minho to her side and pushes Yuri away. Raina and Minho walk away together. Minho breaks free from her tight grasp and grabs her shoulders, viciously shaking her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Raina! Come on!" Minho angrily demands. Raina removes his hands from her shoulders and explains her side.

"I hate it when you go around with other girls." Raina tells him in a soft voice. "I hate seeing you with other girls as much as I know you hate seeing me with other boys…"Raina begins to sob. Minho shakes his head and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, I know it's dumb and I know it's unsupportive, but please. Stop. Just go away. I don't need your drama. Not right now, Raina." Minho walks away from his girlfriend and goes with Yuri. Raina stands in the middle of the hallway, shocked with her hands over her face, crying her heart out. Yuri feels a pinch of guilt and pity, but doesn't care nonetheless. 

"She brought it on!" Yuri says. "We're nothing but friends!" Minho's heart breaks at the sound of those words.

He wants more…

**V.**

I'm roaming around the place, as I often do when a particular, familiar noise catches my ear. I look around, whipping my head from side to side, trying to figure out what's causing the noise. I turn my head to the direction of the left…

Something horrible catches my eye.

Could it be? It can't be! It shouldn't be! 

The campus crush is walking down the hallway. Choi Seung Hyun. Key's fellow rapper. Voice department. 

Is that what's causing all the buzz? Yes. 

Is that the reason why I'm in a daze? No.

Because with that guy. With that very handsome guy Choi Seung Hyun…is my adopted sister Seohyun! What the hell is she doing here? Well, as I've said before, it has been Seohyun's dream to study at my school and to become a singer/pianist. She's always wanted to become a singer so she thought that it'd be a good idea to come and train here.

But as her sister, I don't see it as something good. First of all, I love Choi Seung Hyun. He's like the world to me. Everyday I write poems about him and I write stories about him and me being together forever. I've fancied him since the day he set foot in this school. Now he can't be mine because that sister of mine has come to steal him. 

Shit.

"Thanks so much for showing me around, Seung Hyun." Seohyun says. "I really appreciate you being so kind to me, a new student. By the way, do you know my sister?" Great! Now she's talking about me! 

"Your sister? Who? I don't know her." Seung hyun replies. That breaks my heart. My sister's here how many minutes and she's already hanging out with one of the most popular hunks in school. And he doesn't even know who I am! I've been here longer than my sister has.

I've always loved Choi Seung Hyun. And now, my sister's gonna get him. It just goes to show how shallow most boys are. Yes, I admit it. I'm not as pretty as Seohyun. I'm not as tall as Seohyun. I'm nowhere near her bubble of gracefulness or talentedness. In short, I'm her exact opposite. Seohyun's confident, bubbly, cheerful and friendly while I'm cold, calculating, selfish, and stubborn. Not to mention ugly! Take a look at me! I'm 5 kgs fatter than my sister and I don't know how many centimeters shorter than her. But there is one thing about her that most of you people don't know…and I think it's something she doesn't know either.

That secret is to be revealed if she pisses me off. 

"My sister is Tiffany Hwang. She's a writer in the Literature Department. She's such a great writer. You should read her stories and articles. " My sister recommends me to Seung hyun, much to his disinterest. 

"Tiffany Hwang? Real name?" Seung hyun asks. 

"Stephanie Hwang. Hwang Mi Young." Seohyun gives him all the details but it's like he's not really getting it. Choi Seung Hyun doesn't know who I am. Crap. 

"Never heard of her." he responds.

"Really? Cause she's been a student here for as long as I can remember. She's one of the first few students that made this school what it is now. She's a pioneer."

"Really? Well I've been here for quite some time and I've not heard of a Tiffany Hwang or a Stephanie Hwang or a Hwang Mi Young." Seung hyun rubs his chin. Seohyun stares at him with sparkly eyes and I stare at them with glinting eyes.

Shit.

"I'm not really into reading or writing." says the student rapper. "I'm more of a music person. Say, you're gonna enter the music department, right?"

"Yes. I am."

"Great. We can make beautiful music together. You…wait. What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna sing and play the piano!"

"Be-au-ti-ful!" Seung hyun spells out enthusiastically. "Rap plus piano and vocals. Great! Come on, I think we're gonna be late for class." Seohyun and Seung hyun walk away together. I watch them talk about shit while I sit here and crumple my essay. 

I've been here for years and I haven't gotten the attention that I want yet.

**VI. **

Raina runs all the way to the auditorium where she sits in one of the chairs and cries. She chose the auditorium because it's quiet, there aren't many people and not a lot of people go there. Raina sits somewhere in the middle and weeps like there's no tomorrow. 

Just then, someone shows up. Key.

Raina doesn't feel his presence or notice him enter. She's too lost in her emotions to take notice. Key however, hears her cries and approaches her. He sits next to her and patiently waits for her to take notice of him.

"I know someone's next to me. Please, go away." Raina says in between muffled cries. Key remains in his seat and places his hands on his lap, leaning back on the seat's backrest. Raina feels his presence and removes her hands from her face, wipes her tears and looks at the man who is sitting right next to her.

"Key? What are you doing here?" asks Raina.

"I've come to tell you something."

"That you saw Minho and that Yuri girl together? Heard it. Next please." Raina bows her head and lets the tears flow. 

"That's not what I came here for." Key continues. "And what? Minho and who?" Raina's eyes widen, hidden beneath her short bob-cut hair. 

"You don't care…" Raina sniffs and wipes her nose. "It's none of your business."

"I came here to tell you that Minho is a porn addict. That's all. If you're uninterested and still lost in your emotions, might as well just leave you alone." Key stands up and is taken by surprise when Raina grabs his arm. 

"What…did…you…you say?" Raina stutters. Her head is still down and she is still sniffing. Key sits down once more and faces Raina.

"Minho's a porn addict. He's a playboy. I'm sure you know that. But this is a whole new level of playboyism." Key explains. His hands are shaking in anger and fear. Raina tilts her head and looks at him. Key looks at her and his eyes widen. Her eyes are dark and hollow, mascara flowing from them all the way down to the base of her neck. Her hair is all messed up, it was nicer earlier. 

"Minho? What? No. I mean…it can't be!"

"Sure is!" Key nods and rubs his chin. Raina stands up and her eyes start to swell up with tears again.

"You're telling me?" 

"Yeah. He is. He's a playboy and a porn addict. Dear, he sent me like what? 10 to 50 porn pictures? That's what he does."

"But-"

"No!" Key yells. His voice fills the auditorium. "Don't use it as a reason. You've been using that same reason since the day you found out about his cheating!" Raina quiets down. She bows her head and refuses to make eye contact with Key. Key is very worried about their relationship.

"What next?"

"I have a question for you, Oh Hye Rin."

"What?"

"I want you to look at me. Please." Raina looks at him, mascara continuing to flow from her eyes.

"Do you think Choi Minho loves you? Has that thought ever crossed your mind?" Raina is speechless. That thought has NEVER crossed her mind. If asked, she'd say of course.

"I…"

"Well?"

"I…know he does love me. But I don't know how much or…"

"Don't make anymore excuses. Just say it straight. Does he love you or not?"

"I…yes."

"You said wrong." Key says. His eyes pierce through Raina's sullen ones. 

"Huh?"

"Minho doesn't love you. He only loves you because it makes him popular. It makes him look like a decent man. Alright? You're just for show. Otherwise, if he really loves you, he'd do anything for you and he'd never look at other girls. But what does this tell you?"

"It tells me that you're lying." Raina says bluntly.

"You think I'm lying?" Key smirks and points at himself. Raina wipes the mascara tears and nods. "Well if you think I'm lying, why don't you come to my house and I'll show you the pictures sent by your loving boyfriend."

"He'd never do that."

"What makes you say so? You said it yourself. You saw Minho with the new girl. What does that prove?"

"They're just friends. He said it himself."

"Everyone's Minho's friend, Raina!" Key stands up angrily and yells. "Each and every single woman in this school is Minho's friend. Haven't you noticed, Raina? He always approaches girls and when you ask him about that girl, he says she's just a friend nothing more. That's just Minho's lie. It's the same lie over and over again! How naïve of you not to notice!" 

"I never really thought-"

"Well think again! Use your brain this time! Minho's not inlove with you! If he really did love you, why did he send me all those pornographic bullshit, huh? Why would he look at porn, watch porn and secretly collect porn if he loves you? He has you, right? According to you! But what's up with the porno? He's just after one thing…" Key says.

"This is just one of your sneaky attempts to steal me from Minho. I know it, Key! You claim to be Minho's friend but here you are talking shit about him behind his back! You are a cheap, cheap, cheap man, Key! Cheap and desperate! That's what you are!" Raina yells while crying. Key shakes his head and stands up.

"You are a very, very self-centered woman! Whoever told you that I was after you? I'd never hit on you, Raina. You're the last girl if not, you're not on my list because I know your boyfriend and my best friend is going to get angry! And now here you are thinking that I want to steal you from him? Girl, you have some emotional issues to work on! Work on your psychological health before fixing your relationship with Minho. Sheesh! Now I'm starting to see the other side of it. It's as if you're half of the problem. Goddammit!" Key walks away from her. Raina's tears swell up and she runs after him as he ascends from the ramp.

"Key! Key! Wait! I'm sorry! Please don't walk away!" Raina tugs the hood of Key's jacket. Key turns around and sees Raina sit on the floor with her hands on her face, crying out again.

"Toughen up, Raina. Please. You're being overly dramatic again."

"Sorry. I'm just so tired of people leaving me in a certain spot crying like a fool." 

"Well you're making a fool out of yourself now!" Key grits his teeth at Raina who is staring at him like all the mercy in the world depends on him. "Get up and fix your life."

"Help me…" Raina sobs harder. "Please. I don't know what to do anymore." she throws herself at Key and embraces him, letting herself cry freely. Key embraces her back.

"Raina. You have to talk to Minho about this. You and Minho have to reflect on your relationship. Please. You're giving me a hard time. Minho comes to me too about you."

"What does he say about me?" 

"He complains about you. Your…I think you know your weaknesses. I don't have to ennumerate them for you."

"Key…please. Help me."

"Be honest with yourself. Do you think Minho loves you? Do you?"

"I don't know. I think he doesn't. I see him with girls every day and to be honest I just let it pass because I'm afraid that if I go to him and talk to him about it, he'd get angry with me and break up with me…I don't know what to think anymore, Key." 

"This relationship is ruining your life. You can't even think straight anymore. Hye Rin, fix yourself. Fix your life." Key runs a hand through Raina's bangs, fixing them. He fixes the rest of her crowning glory. "Your look now is a representation of your life. Messy, destitute, broken. Go to the restroom and straighten yourself out. You're ruining it." Key walks away from her. Raina is left alone once again.

It feels great being the omniscient narrator. You see and hear everything. 


	4. IV

I.

I.

Yuri is walking down the hall to dance class with her earphones on when she feels a push from behind. An intentional push. Yuri takes the earphones off and whips around, looking for whoever did it.

As expected, it was just Gahee and her girls.

"Hey Yuri!" hollers Gahee. "Where you headed? Dance class?"

"Where do you think? Ask yourself!" Yuri snaps back.

"Well, we've got some news for you and your crew!" Minzy says half-laughing. Soo Young puts an arm around Yuri but Yuri removes it quickly.

"What do you want this time?" Yuri crosses her arms on her chest.

"I know how much you love dancing, Yul." Gahee teases her while twirling her hair. "And talent month's coming up. It's next month to be exact. So that's a lot of time for you and your girls to prepare."

"What the hell, Gahee? Stop the teasing and just get straight to the point."

"Since you're really excited, our crew is challenging you to form a crew and to compete against us in Talent Month." Gahee plays with Yuri's hair, much to Yuri's smirking and head shaking. "After all, you're the 'queen dancer' now, Yuri. After what you and your girls did to me last time, I'm officially surrendering the crown to you. But being the dancing queen doesn't mean you're the best. It ain't nothing but a title. Wait til you see the Dancing Goddess."

Yuri's stare becomes colder. "Bring it on, Park Gahee." She isn't even sure of what she's saying. The other girls holler at Yuri's spunkiness. Since day one, Yuri has always been full of spunk.

"Woah! Tough!" Soo Young teases. "You're pretty gutsy for a new girl. But I must warn you, Yuri. Many new students have challenged us. Not one emerged as the victor. Think you got what it takes?"

"I'll show you more than that!" Yuri steps up to Soo Young. Her height shrinks in comparison but what she lacks in terms of feet and centimeters, she makes up for in courage.

"Okay. We trust you. But we'd like to stay in our comfort zone. We'd like to believe that you and your crew will end up like most of the other girl groups that competed against us in the past. Total failures." Gahee responds.

"It's because those girls were new. Weak. Meek. Uncompetitive. Much like yourself, Gahee!" Yuri hits back. This enrages Gahee and makes her lunge forward at Yuri and grab her shirt.

"You take those words back, Kwon Yuri." Gahee grits her teeth at the new girl. "Or I'll make you eat them!" Yuri pushes Gahee with all her might and answers back.

"You're a coward! You don't know dance! If there's one thing you and your minions are good at, that's being sore losers!" This really angers Soo Young, thus forcing her to grab Yuri's shirt and throw her to the floor, causing a huge uproar in the hallway. Yuri tries to get up but Soo Young grabs her hair and wrestles her on the floor.

"This is something I should've done 3 days ago!" Soo Young raises her fist about to punch Yuri. Yuri covers her face with her hands but miraculously, the punch doesn't happen.

Someone lifts Soo Young off Yuri.

Choi Minho. And I think he's just trying to cop a feel again. Ugh!

"You get your hands off my best friend, you fucking whore!" he grits at Soo Young. Soo Young's eyes widen in fear and disbelief.

"_Best friend? Choi Minho? Is best friends with this loser new girl? Unbelievable!" _Soo Young is helped up by her friends and they cower together.

"What? You're her best friend?"

"Don't question us." Minho helps Yuri up. The other students look on with confused faces because they know that Minho and Raina are together…

So what's he doing with the new girl?"

"Are you alright?" Minho asks Yuri. Yuri nods and smartens her outfit.

"Yeah. I'm cool." Minho places his arm around Yuri and gives the girls a mean stare. Min, HyoYeon, and Nicole sense the commotion and run for Yuri.

"Yuri! Yuri! Are you-" Nicole stops in her tracks when she sees Yuri and Minho together. Yuri doesn't even look at them. They suddenly remembered the words Yuri told them about Minho.

"What are you doing with Minho?" she walks over to Yuri and asks this. Yuri looks at her and gives her the elevator eyes, staring her down.

"Yeah! I thought you hated him?" HyoYeon butts in.

"Why do you care? He's my friend and he just saved my face from getting broken by that brute Soo Young." Yuri snaps. Min is taken aback and answers for Nicole.

"Well FYI, Yuri, I saved your ass from Soo Young's wrath, too. Don't you remember?"

"Girls, please. I nearly got my face busted, alright. I need some time to cope. Let's talk some other time, okay. Not now." Yuri and Minho walk away. Nicole is left dumbfounded with the other girls consoling her.

-LATER ON-

"I can't believe it!" Nicole says exasperatedly. "Yuri's here 1 week and she's left us already! And to think we even defended her." The three are talking in the restroom cubicle. Nicole is seated on the toilet (the lid down) seat while the two are leaning on the walls.

"I know. It's been quite some time now…God. She changes fast!" Min shrugs.

"What could've pushed Yuri to change?" HyoYeon asks.

"Minho. It's Minho. Just the other day she said she hated him but why is she hanging out with him now?" Nicole wonders.

"Maybe it's because she has something for him."

"Right after saying that she hates him. Min, I'd love to think the same way as you do but it just doesn't make sense."

"Maybe Yuri's into him, Nicole. I have to agree with Min." HyoYeon says.

"It's because she's noticed that things between Minho and his girlfriend aren't going so well that's why she's making her move now." Min clarifies.

"Fuck!" Nicole stands and slams the cubicle door. Good thing there's no one in there. Nicole leans on the door and slides down and as soon as she is seated, she runs her hand through her short bob-cut hair and thinks deeply with her head down. Min and HyoYeon comfort her.

"I can't believe it. We just got her and now we're about to lose her to Choi Minho! She's such a fox! A playgirl!" Nicole yells.

"Hush now, Nicole. I do believe Minho's a playboy-"

"And he has a girlfriend! Did you see how cuddly they were there? Dammit!"

"But-"

"Just because Minho's in a rocky relationship with Raina? What the hell? Is Yuri really like that?" Nicole yells.

"We don't know her. We can't say anything about her." Min defends.

"I don't care. We know something now." Nicole says. The three stay locked in the cubicle in silence.

**II.**

"Key! Please help me! I don't know what to do!" Raina exits the auditorium trailing Key. Key looks at her and smirks. He turns his head back front and walks, ignoring her pleads.

"Listen, Raina. I've warned you countless times about Minho. You never listened to me." Key walks off arrogantly. Raina runs behind him, pulling his jacket hood and begging for help.

"There's got to be something I could do. Something you could do for me. Please, Key. I'm really paranoid. Minho's really starting to take me for granted."

"Starting? You haven't been listening, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

"Minho's not 'starting to take you for granted'. Minho's been taking you for granted since the day you became his."

"What do you mean?"

"I already explained this to you. Countless fucking times. But you'd rather stick to your own weak principles. "

"Please. I just want to feel happy…"

"What has Minho been doing to you?" Key asks. Raina looks down in shame. She raises her left arm and pulls her sleeve up. She shows Key the beating marks that Minho left on her arm.

"What happened there?" Key looks at her arm with a look of shock and disbelief.

"Minho beat me up and cut me with a razor." her eyes swell up with tears again. Her face is now streaked with mascara and her hair, a hellish mess.

"What for?"

"…ah…" Raina can't speak properly. Each time she recalls that day, those days, tears form in her eyes and it makes her just want to break down and sob.

That's exactly what she's doing now.

"You've got to stop crying and start living. Each day I see you, all you do is cry and cry and cry. I've never seen you happy before." Key says.

"It's because there's nothing worth being happy for. Everything's a huge pile of depressing crap. My boyfriend's an asshole, I have no friends…"

"Hold that. You have Sun Ye and Hye Rim." Key says.

"They're not supportive. I can't get anything from them. They comfort me but they don't really help me!" Raina sobs harder. "Besides, they don't know what I'm going through so they can't help me no matter how much they love me."

"Your parents." Key suggests. Raina's head shoots up and she looks down once more.

"That's useless…" Raina says weakly. "They don't care about me, Key!"

"There's only one way to get Minho off your mind." Key says with a smirk.

"What? How?"

Key's smile grows wider upon the willingness of Raina to cooperate.

"You have to be my girlfriend." Key says with his arms crossed.

"What?" Raina sweeps her bangs to the side and wipes the mascara tears off.

"Yes. I'll help you forget about Minho. If you become my girlfriend."

"For how long?" Key smiles and gets all giddy at her willingness.

"For around…I don't know. Until you get over him."

"Shit. If this is the only way to get that asshole off my mind, then I'll do it." Raina agrees but is a bit doubtful about it.

"I swear. You'll have a better time with me than with Minho." Raina looks down as Key widens his smile and opens and closes his fists.

**III.**

Ji Yeon and Hyun Joong become close friends. They've been hanging with each other for quite some time so that doesn't really surprise me. I kind of expected it to happen, actually. Ji Yeon told me that they sit together in Art Class and he's really patient and friendly and gentlemanly. All is well between them.

Until Ji Yeon comes out one day and tells me something. Something that I really loathe.

"Tiffeny! Tiffeny!" Ji Yeon's high pitch voice pierces my ears. I turn around and see her running to me excitedly. I roll my eyes and walk to her.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's Tiffany. What do you want?" I ask impatiently with my arms crossed on my chest.

"Hyun Joong asked me out. We're gonna go on a date this Friday." she says excitedly. My jaws drop and my eyes close in anger. And jealousy. I walk away from her with my notebook nearly covering my face. Actually it's covering half of my face. Ji Yeon walks after me and places a hand on my shoulder.

"Tiffany, what's wrong?" Finally! She gets the pronunciation right. I want to turn around but I can't because…

Because I'm tearing up. For the first time I'm tearing up over something shallow.

"Tiffany!"

"Ji Yeon!" I raise my hand with my back turned. "Let's talk some other time, okay. If you want, you can come to my house and let's get ready for your date." Being the naïve angel that she is, Ji Yeon automatically says yes.

"Okay! What time?"

"Anytime before your date." I walk away from her quickly with my face covered by the notebook.

Now most of you may be wondering why the hell I'm crying. Well to be frank with you, I am jealous. Not because I like Hyun Joong but because Ji Yeon's getting a boyfriend. And I'm not. You see, I've been in this institution longer than that girl and not a single guy has looked at me. Ever. Ji Yeon is someone whom I consider lower than me but here she is getting a boyfriend. A boy took notice of her. Not a single boy has noticed me.

And don't even get me started on SeoHyun's existence here.

[FRIDAY NIGHT BEFORE 8 PM]

I am sitting on my couch watching TV with my eyes half-closed when the doorbell rings. I jump from where I am seated and rush to the door. I open it and see Ji Yeon with a big bag of clothes, makeup, and accessories with her. I roll my eyes, smile and let her in.

"Gosh! Your house has changed!" she marvels.

"That's because we rearranged most of the things her. We didn't buy anything new or paint the walls or something." I explain sarcastically to her.

"Well then, let's get started! Let's go to your room and get me fixed."

"What time is it anyways?" I ask looking around the room, searching for the clock. Ji Yeon has a watch with her and tells me the time before I could find the clock.

"It's 6:30 pm. Come on! It takes forever to get me dressed."

"Alright then. Let's go up." Ji Yeon and I rush to the stairs and enter my room. We lock the door and I throw myself on the bed. She takes the pink frilly dress out of the bag and places it on top of her body, spinning around like a ballerina.

"What do you think?" she asks as she faces me. I take the bag of chips and stuff 8 or 9 in my mouth.

"I think it looks great." I say. Ji Yeon purses her lips and furrows her brows, then turns around to dump the dress on the bed. She grabs her bag and takes another dress out. A black, long-sleeved one this time.

"Bout this one?"

"How's about you actually put it on so I can see." I suggest. Ji Yeon runs to my dresser and tries all the dresses on. It bores me to the bone but for her sake, I try to make my mind up.

"So…which one should I wear?" she asks cutely.

"I think you should wear the pink one. You look like a doll in it." I say half-heartedly.

"Are you sure?"

I stand up and place the empty bag of chips on her side table drawer. I go to her and fix her curls, sweeping them to the side and taking a small pin from my pocket and clipping her hair. She looks more immaculate than any other girl I've seen.

"Ji Yeon, it doesn't matter what I think about your clothes. What's important is what you think about your dress. If it makes you feel beautiful, then it'll turn you into the most beautiful girl in the world." She smiles at me and makes her way to the mirror that I have. I take her bag and take the makeup out. I fix her 20 minutes before her date arrives.

[20 MINUTES LATER]

We have just finished fixing up when the doorbell rings. Hyun Joong is waiting outside the door with a bouquet of flowers for Ji Yeon. Ji Yeon's heart skips a beat at the sound of the doorbell. I run down the stairs, nearly tripping, and answer the door.

"Hi Tiffany! Is this your house?" he asks shyly.

"What does it look like? Of course it is!" I answer jokingly. "Anyways, how'd you know Ji Yeon was here?"

"She told me she'd be at your house. And I think she's somewhere upstairs?"

"Wait. Don't come in." I slam the door at him and rush upstairs to tug Ji Yeon out of the room. But a big surprise greets me the moment I enter my room.

Ji Yeon is all made up. All by herself. And she looks so different. So different from the bland and plain Ji Yeon I know.

"Ji Yeon! He's outside. He's waiting for you." I tell her. Ji Yeon places her hands on her heart and feels the skipping of it. She backs away and lightly shakes her head. I grab her hand and tug her out of the room. I tug her all the way down the stairs and as soon as we reach the door, I place her in front of me and pull the door open, revealing her to Hyun Joong.

Hyun Joong is speechless.

"You…are…so…pretty. I can't believe it!" Hyun Joong smiles. Ji Yeon blushes and twists from side to side. I smile at the two of them. They couldn't be any cuter.

"Thanks." Ji Yeon tosses some curly locks back. Hyun Joong is so lost in her beauty that he forgets about the flowers behind his back.

"For you, Ji Yeon." he reveals the flowers, shocking Ji Yeon. "Are you ready for our date?"

Ji Yeon smiles and nods. Hyun Joong extends his hand for her to take. She takes it and walks along with him to his car. He opens the door for her and lets her in before closing it. Hyun Joong then walks over to his side and drives away.

**[song to match the mood: "Ready to L.O.V.E." by Brown Eyed Girls]**

Hyun Joong and Ji Yeon arrive at the café' where they are to have their first date. Hyun Joong's been checking Ji Yeon out and they've been spending a lot of time together.

Upon arriving, Hyun Joong steps down first to open the door for Ji Yeon. He extends his hand to aid her, which she accepts. They walk hand-in-hand to the café. Inside, they look for a table.

The café is anything but romantic but for two quiet, boring people, the café is the most romantic place in the universe. Hyun Joong orders a cup of frappuccino and asks Ji Yeon what she'd like to have.

"Uhm. I'll just get the Mocha Latte." she answers shyly and sweetly. Hyun Joong smiles at her.

"I think our drinks would go good with some cake! How's about 2 slices of the chocolate melt?"

"I'd love that!"

After ordering, Hyun Joong walks over to Ji Yeon and they start talking while waiting for their orders.

"I didn't know you were this pretty!" Hyun Joong exclaims.

"I didn't think I'd become this pretty. I thought I was so ugly!"

"Don't say that about yourself! You're very pretty, Ji Yeon. Just fix yourself even more."

"I'm not really that pretty. You've seen me without makeup on and with ordinary clothes. I don't stand out."

"You may not stand out for the others but to me, you're prettier than the popular girls at school." this really makes Ji Yeon blush. She likes Hyun Joong and the sound of him saying that she's prettier than the popular girls is just a compliment higher than a compliment.

"Thanks. I think I'd like to keep looking this way." Ji Yeon finally accepts his compliment.

Their food arrives a few minutes later. The cake and the coffee are good and they seem to enjoy their light night getaway. As soon as they've finished, they both set out.

"Where to next?" asks Hyun Joong.

"I'd like to go stargazing at the park." Ji Yeon replies.

"Alright, then."

They both get in the car and drive to the park. Once there, they see the tranquil park that has lasted for several generations. Still ever so peaceful. They park their car somewhere and step down to walk around. After two rounds around the park, Ji Yeon sits on the grass and Hyun Joong sits beside her.

"That star is really pretty. It's so big and shiny." Ji Yeon says.

"Yeah. You know what, you're like a star." Hyun Joong blurts.

"Huh?" Ji Yeon looks at him confused.

"A star is very small, but it's very shiny and beautiful that's why it stands out." Hyun Joong explains. Ji Yeon stares at him, obviously still not getting it.

"I-"

"You may not be the most popular girl. You may not be the friendliest girl around. You may be the most forgotten one, so-called, but you're beautiful and talented and for that, you stand out." Ji Yeon marvels at his depth. Hyun Joong is really a deep thinker and this trait of his attracts her.

"You are such a nice guy. I've never met anyone this nice before. All the guys that I've come across are jerks . You're different. I'll remember you forever." Ji Yeon smiles. Hyun Joong takes her hand in his. Ji Yeon is startled but calm. Funny cause her reactions are contradicting. She sits calmly, waiting for Hyun Joong's next move.

His next move is about to make Ji Yeon feel the best feeling in the world.

Hyun Joong kisses her hand. Ji Yeon's eyes widen in surprise, excitement, happiness, embarrassment, and delight. Never has she been kissed by a guy.

"You made my night. Simple night, I know. But your presence and your beauty made it the best, most glamorous night. Ever." Hyun Joong and Ji Yeon stand up and go back to their car to drive away for a joyride. Part three of their beautiful night.

**IV. **

Yuri and Minho walk to the dance studio where Yuri is to practice. Minho smirks and grins and cocks his head to the side while walking, proud of his new "friend."

Of if he sees Yuri as his friend, then yes.

"Minho, wanna practice with me?" asks Yuri.

"Sure. But I'd like to watch you first." Minho says with that certain coolness in his voice. Yuri doesn't feel anything nor does she think about anything. She just smiles back and does what she's supposed to do.

Before dancing, Yuri usually warms up. Yuri stretches and jogs a bit. But since Minho is watching her, she opts not to warm up rather, she goes straight to the point. She takes off her really loose hoodie, revealing a white crop top, baggy pants, and a really nice set of girl abs. Minho can't help but look at her beautiful build.

"Stop staring, asshole!" Yuri takes notice of his staring and curses at him playfully. Minho shakes his head and looks down with his face all red.

**[song to match the mood: "Lucifer" by SHINee]**

Minho sits in the corner, watching Yuri dance. Yuri is a really decent and quiet but somewhat feisty girl but when she dances she turns into a beast. Not the beast like the scary beast but a sexy beast. Like, monstrously hot! Even I can't help it.

"Hey Yuri!" calls Minho.

"Yeah!" Yuri replies while trying her best to concentrate.

"Where'd you get those hot packs?" since Yuri's not much of a street-talker, she didn't understand what Minho just said. She stops the music and looks confusingly at Minho with her hand through her hair.

"Hot packs? What bullshit are you talking about?" she asks him.

"Those hot packs!" he points at her girl abs. Yuri looks at them and covers them with her arms, ashamed.

"Shut up, dickhead! You're such a pervert! Do you really go around asking girls where they got their "hot packs" or "double Ds" or what?" Yuri asks annoyed.

"Sorry, sorry! Just kidding, mah dear!" Minho replies with a flamboyant accent. Yuri rolls her eyes and shakes her head. She goes back to dancing.

"I'm thinking of entering that dance contest on Talent Month." says Yuri while vigorously dancing. "I can't wait to beat the shit out of Park Gahee and her crew!"

"Woah! You got spunk! Pretty competitive, too!" Minho marvels.

"Sure! I never back down! I may be new but you can't break my spirit, chah!" Yuri says.

"Why? You got your crew?"

"Course I do! Nicole, Min, and HyoYeon along with some other people! We'll be the baddest crew ever!"

"Nicole. Nicole Jung?" asks Minho.

"Nicole Jung…hmmm… Not familiar with her? Mind introducing her to me?"

"Sure. When I got time."

"Can I dance with you?" Minho stands up and walks to Yuri. Yuri stops, eyes him from head to toe and recalls the dirtiness of Gahee's dance.

"Why not?" Yuri answers. Minho smirks and gets down with her.

Unfortunately for them, someone passes by.

Someone in the form of them.

Key and his newfound girl.

Raina.

They hear the music and peer through the window. They see Minho and Yuri dirty dancing, grinding on each other. Yuri and Minho both getting hot. Key shrugs it off but Raina is furious…

And the mascara's about to spill again!

Raina tries to hold them back and looks at Key. She grabs Key's arm and walks away.

"We have no time for this!" she says with her voice shaking. You can tell she's about to cry anytime.

"Yeah!" Key answers.

After their hot dancing session, Yuri and Minho exit the dance studio exchanging high-fives and laughs. They catch Key and Raina arm in arm, acting all sweet. Yuri's eyes widen while smoke's just coming out of Minho's ears. And nose.

"And you said she called me a whore?" Yuri asks Minho with a disgusted look on her face.

"Raina! My God!" Minho yells. "With Key? Fuck!" Minho chases them, leaving Yuri behind. Wanting to stay out of trouble and controversy's way, Yuri enters the dance studio and remains there.

"Raina! Oh Hye Rin!" Minho tugs her arm and pulls her away from Key.

"What do you want?" Raina yelps and cries as she tries to break free from Minho's grasp. She pushes Minho away and runs to Key who takes her hand and intertwines her arm in his. Key looks slyly at Minho and Minho stares at him with a smirk on his face. He returns to the dance studio and sees Yuri packing her things angrily.

"Fuck!" Minho strokes his hair and his cheek. Yuri looks at him confused and grabs her backpack, slings it on her shoulder.

"What the hell was that?" Yuri asks Minho perplexed. Minho shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair.

"Nothing. Raina and I aren't in good terms right now. I'm not even sure if our relationship will last long."

"Yeah but what was your best friend doing there? Key's your best friend, ain't he?"

"He is. Was." Minho makes clear use of the past tense, indicating that he and Key are no longer friends.

"Raina's a whore. And to think she's been calling me a whore behind my back." Yuri indignantly says.

"Don't care about her. She's none of your business." Minho storms out of the dance studio, slamming the door behind him and leaving Yuri in a shocked state.

"Shit." Yuri shakes her head and sits on the floor. She leans her head on the mirror and thinks to herself.

Is it right for her to be with Minho? Could she be the cause of Raina and Minho's growing apart. Could her presence possibly lead to their breakup?

As much as Yuri dislikes Raina or to put it in a nicer way, as much as she is not fond of Raina, she hates to be the cause of friction between two lovers. She-as Minho's new friend-wants nothing but the best for her new companion and she hates to see him in such a depressed and stressed mood. For Minho, she wants them to be happy and she wants them to love each other not to fight and grow apart. But something in her, her gut-feel that is, is telling her that she's the root of their relationship problems. Why Raina's been crying for the past few days is because of her. And this affects Minho in a huge way because Raina is Minho's girlfriend and when Raina is sad because of their [Yuri and Minho] closeness, it angers Minho.

It's very stupid, actually because Yuri had a choice then. If she knew that their relationship would crumble at the entrance of another girl or guy, she should've stayed away from Minho but she chose to stay with him and she is now his "best friend".

Worst part of it is, their friendship is creating a huge gap between Yuri and her friends, Minho and Key, and worsening Raina and Yuri's relationship with each other. They didn't start out well and Minho and Yuri's friendship is only aggravating it.

Now, sitting on the floor with her head up straight, Yuri says these words in her mind,

"_But why can't I stay away from him? We've been friends for a few days but it's like something's going on."_

Yuri stands up and plays the music and dances again.

Minho on the other hand, is roaming around the campus angrily. He ignores everyone in sight and gives those that get in his way a mean stare. He sits by himself and covers his face with his hands.

"_I just can't stay away from Yuri."_

**V.**

Son Ga In is seen roaming around the campus, fixing her side bangs and twirling her finger in her hair. She is chewing gum and blowing a bubble with it. The boys all stare at her legs and her breasts and her curves. She knows how to make guys stare and drool.

Raina-who is Ga In's long time rival in the singing department-runs into Ga In with Key. Key sees her and leans over to whisper something to her.

"Hey, it's Ga In…" Key whispers. "Your arch nemesis."

"I don't care." Raina says with a poker face. Key smirks at her feistiness and knows that she's just this way because she's hurt. Ga In spots Raina and approaches her. Raina sees her coming and avoids her by leading Key to the other hall. Ga In quickly grabs Raina's arm and pulls her.

"Hey Raina! Going somewhere?" asks Ga In. Raina stares blankly at Ga In.

"I was about to until you pulled me! What do you want? Hurry up, I'm not in a good mood!"

"I'm challenging you to a singing contest in Talent Month." Ga In states boldly. "Think you're really good? Step up to the challenge." Raina breaks free from Ga In angrily and backs off.

"I'll do better than stepping up. I'll stomp on you, bitch!" Raina walks away from Ga In with Key on her arm. She feels much better now as she has released all her negative energy on Ga In.

Key snickers at her spunkiness. "Do not mess with Raina when she's angry!" Raina looks at him and purses her lips together, a face of frustration.

"Come with me. I'm gonna practice…" they walk to the voice room to practice.

"What are you gonna sing?" asks her 'boyfriend' Key.

"I have no idea. Something angry perhaps." Raina sits and covers her face with her handkerchief. Her white handkerchief starts to get stained with her mascara. Key knows what this means.

"Oh! Don't tell me you're turning white handkerchiefs black again!" Key groans and gives himself a face palm.

"Shut up, Key! If you're not gonna be a responsible and caring 'boyfriend', then just go away. "

"Well it's not my fault that your life's a living hell right now!"

Raina wiped her mascara tears. Her white face is once again stained with mascara, eyeliner, and fading foundation. Key could only laugh at the way she looks right now.

"Get out!" Raina stands up and points to the door. "If you're just here to make fun of me and make me realize how stupid I am and how I screwed up, get out!" Key smirks and leaves and the moment he exits the room and his entire presence is gone, he slams the door behind him, making Raina cringe.

"_God! What have I gotten myself into this time? Minho's angry with me. Yuri's angry with me. My friends doubt me. And now Key…my only rock and source of strength…is about to hate me!" _

Raina suppresses her tears this time. She goes to the recording booth to record her practice song.

**[song: "2 Different Tears" by the Wonder Girls]**

Raina plays the piano while singing to "2 Different Tears", her first song choice. She lightly presses the keys and lets the words musically come out of her mouth. The song speaks of her current situation, in her relationship with Minho so each lyric is laden with heavy emotions. She is thinking of Minho, Yuri, and Key while singing. Since Raina is an emotional girl, she can feel her warm, dark, cosmetic tears flowing from her eyes.

Suddenly, the door opens. Raina doesn't hear it because her heart, mind, and body are in the song. Who entered?

Sun Ye.

Min Sun Ye sits next to her friend who is emotionally playing the piano while trying hard to stop the tears from flowing. Raina's white dress is once again stained with mascara yet she continues to play the piano and sing her piece. She didn't feel Sun Ye sit next to her.

"What's up? Singing contest?" Sun Ye asks.

"Yeah."

"Woah? Since when did you consider joining the singing contest?"

"Since the day Ga In challenged me."

"Ga In challenged you?" Sun Ye asks in disbelief. "Doesn't she know that you're like, the best singer here?"

"Ga In's got some pipes. Like really powerful ones."

"Why did she challenge you? I mean, out of all the singers here, why you?" asks Sun Ye.

"Ga In used to be Minho's girlfriend. She was dumped by Minho when he saw me. No, actually, they were still together when he was courting me." Raina confesses.

"Then why is she angry with you?"

"Because she thinks that I broke them up."

"You didn't! I mean, unless you knew that Minho and Ga In were together but you didn't! So that doesn't make it your fault."

"Exactly! Ga In's hated me since Minho and I got together."

"Shit. Just don't care about her, Raina. Focus on this competition."

"I know."

"Besides, did you have any plans to join that contest?"

"Yes. " Raina continues to play the piano and sing the song.

**VI. **

Seo Joo Hyun (my adopted sister) is being shown around the school by Choi Seung Hyun (my long time crush). Seung Hyun shows her to the Voice Department where she'll be studying.

"Wow! So this is your classroom?" exclaims Seohyun with all her innocence. I look at her and smirk. There goes my little sister, using her innocence to get the guys that I like.

"Yep! This is where we learn how to sing, play instruments, rap, whatever! Anything related to making music, we develop it here!" Seung hyun says.

"I can't wait to learn!" Seohyun excitedly says. "I mean, I've been singing since I was a kid and for me to be here is just a great honor!"

"I know. I can't wait to hear you!" Seung hyun compliments her. Seohyun blushes and enters the piano room where Raina once was. (she has left) Seohyun sits down and gracefully places her fingers on the keys of the piano. Seung hyun watches her with twinkling eyes. She seems to have him captivated. My sister begins to play the piano and sing.

**[song: "Take It" by the Wonder Girls]**

Seohyun sings the first verse which truly captivates Seung hyun. He can't help but close his eyes and drift away to Seohyun's lovely voice and excellent piano playing skills.

And I can't help but feel jealous. That should be me sitting next to Seung hyun, making him doze off like a baby.

But I can't. I'm no singer. I'm just a boring writer.

A boring writer who will NEVER get any recognition in this school.

Seohyun stops after the first chorus. Seung hyun applauds and praises her which makes me even more jealous.

"Wow! You're really good? For how long did you train?" asks Seung hyun.

"Since I was, I don't know, 5?" replies Seohyun shyly.

"No wonder you're a pro! You've been at it since you were a kid! Keep it up!" Seung hyun gives her a pat on the back which makes my blood boil.

"Thanks. But my sister Tiffany is even better! She's been playing the piano since she was 3! I swear! You have to hear Tiffany!" Seohyun exclaims, pretending to be proud of me.

"Uhm. I'd love to some other time. But I don't know who this Tiffany is. I have yet to meet her!"

"She's here in this school, too. Would you like me to introduce you to her?" asks Seohyun.

"Nah! I'll find time for that. Right now, I'd like us to focus on our Talent Month entry." Seung hyun replies.

"Talent Month? What's that?" asks Seohyun innocently.

"It's the month after this month. It's the month when we show our talents. Think of it as a huge talent show!" Seung hyun describes with matching hand gestures.

"Ohhh…I'd like that!"

"Of course you would! Now get playing! I want to hear your voice and your piano playing!" Seohyun gracefully places her fingers on the keys of the keyboard and plays away, hypnotizing Seung hyun.

I spy on them from the small corner of the other room. My door is half closed so I can still see what they are doing from where I am. They're acting all sweet and it's pissing me off! My eyes glint at their laughter and my lips pout at their togetherness.

That should be me…


	5. V

I.

Raina and Key are together again. And as always, they display their "affection" for each other to the entire campus. They don't care about the stares and the snickers. What matters is their "love" for each other.

Their fake love.

Honestly, Key doesn't love Raina, neither does Raina love Key. They're only together for the sake of Raina. Raina wants to forget about Minho and his playboy ways so she decides to give Minho a dose of his own medicine by pretending to be in a relationship with his best friend. Key's enjoying every minute of it as he knows that Minho's not being a true friend. Besides, he'd like to teach his best friend a lesson on how to treat girls.

As for Minho, he doesn't care. Or does he?

Earlier in the story, you witnessed Minho trying to call Raina and Raina leaving him for Key. That gravely upset Minho and now, he's in depression.

Fast forward to the present, Key and Raina are "making love" on the bench beside the drinking fountain. All the students passing by give them strange looks but they could care less. All that matters is Raina is getting her revenge and Key is teaching a lesson.

Unfortunately for them, Ga In is one of those passerbys. And she just happens to have her camera with her.

"Ah! Oh Hye Rin! The whore who stole my boyfriend! Let me teach you how to not get what's others'." Ga In takes her camera out and smartly positions somewhere far from the two. She turns her camera on and presses zoom. With her zoom mode on, she can see the couple clearly from a distance. She turns the flash off and takes several shots. Shot after shot after shot. And the two are completely unaware of it.

This is one of the benefits of being the all seeing, all hearing, all knowing narrator. You get the juiciest gossip!

Once satisfied with 15 shots of Key and Raina publicly displaying their affection for each other, Ga In shuts her camera and walks away, dashes to the Principal's Office. Bad news for Key and Raina, not only the Principal is in the office.

Most of the Department Teachers and the Talent Month are there, too. And if they find out about Key and Raina's PDA, the two could be disqualified from the Talent Month contests.

"Finally! Revenge! Calling me a whore? Let's see who's the bigger whore now!" Ga In walks stylishly away.

**II.**

Ji Yeon is on cloud nine. Her date with Hyun Joong was the best night of her life. She still can't believe that she has a boyfriend, though. She may get a little shy with him sometimes but she loves the feeling. It upholds her. It exalts her.

So one day, Ji Yeon comes looking more beautiful than ever. Her bangs that used to hang loose in front of her face are now clipped to the side with a beautiful bow to match. She used to wear big jackets, jeans, and sneakers but today, she's in a pretty white, sleeveless summer dress. And her shoes…white lady shoes with wedge heels. To top it all off, Ji Yeon has make up on, something that she's never had on before. As for her jewelry, a simple shell necklace did the trick.

"Hi Tiffany!" her greeting is fluffy and sweet, kind of like drunk actually. "Have you seen Hyun Joong?" she asks. I roll my eyes and smile lazily at her.

"He's over there!" I point. She sees Hyun Joong and of course, Hyun Joong sees her, too. They run to each other and embrace. I roll my eyes and walk away. I am a bitter person. And I'm even more bitter because the only guy I like likes my sister. My adopted sister. My fake sister!

"So…what are we gonna do today?" asks Ji Yeon. She tucks her hair behind her ear and Hyun Joong strokes her hair.

"We can eat lunch together. You can bring Tiffany if you want to." I heard their conversation and whip around to face them.

"No thanks! I'm eating by myself." I say arrogantly before walking away. Ji Yeon and Hyun Joong shrug and look at each other with eyes so in love.

"After this? Where to next?"

"To my place! I want to introduce you to my parents!" Ji Yeon shyly tucks her hair behind her ear and takes Hyun Joong's hand. My eyes glint in anger and jealousy. Why is it that Ji Yeon got a guy before me? Seung hyun won't even look at me. I walk quickly away from them. The two just look at me (or so I feel) weirdly but I just shrug it off. I have better things to do than to melt in jealousy seeing my best friend and her boyfriend together.

I head to the library to finish my essay for Talent Month's writing contest. I love the library. It's a haven for writers and artists alike. Ji Yeon and I used to hang out here a lot. Used to. That was before Hyun Joong came and destroyed our beautiful friendship. Anyways, I sit at one of the tables and place the butt of the pen in my mouth, twirling it like a lollipop. I try to think of something good to write, well I've started but thoughts of Ji Yeon, Hyun Joong, and my sister in this school haunt me, preventing me from concentrating.

"_Shit! Tiffany! Get your act together and finish your essay! You want to win this, don't you?" _I thought to myself. I take the pen and continue my essay. _"What's the use? I didn't enter myself in this contest! What's the use of working hard for a contest that you didn't even sign up for!"_ I put the thought at the back of my mind and prod on with my writing. I list each and every single women's rights violation that's happening in our school down.

Minutes later, the library door opens. I am no longer alone. And to my surprise, I see Hyun Joong and Ji Yeon sweetly coming in with Ji Yeon's arm intertwined with Hyun Joong's. I stand corrected. I am no longer alone.

"Hey Tiffeny!" Here she goes again with her mispronunciation. I want to correct her but I choose not to. It's not worth it. She's better than me, now. Ji Yeon's more beautiful, more popular, and friendlier than me now. Now that she has Hyun Joong, she's changed. Anyways, they sit with me at my table and act all sweet. I try not to mind them and focus on what I'm writing but their sweet words and sweet actions keep getting in the way of my concentration.

"Hey! If you two want to make sweet love I suggest you do it outside of the library and not in front of me!" I say snappily. "I don't have time for any of your mushiness! If your goal is to make me look a loser, then leave!" I don't know what got into my head and I said that. Whatever it was, Ji Yeon is really angry right now. She looks at me with angry eyes and shakes her head.

"Sorry!" Ji Yeon snaps back. That's something rare. How often does Ji Yeon snap? And at me? I thought I was gonna get a docile response. I was wrong. "It's not our fault that someone's bitter here."

"Excuse me!" I shut my notebook and stand up, pointing at Ji Yeon. "How dare you say I'm bitter?" I see the librarian put her specs back on, lowering them a bit to see us clearly.

"Well it's just that, ever since Hyun Joong and I got together, you've been really snappy!" Ji Yeon yells louder. I feel embarrassed for us, but I'm not gonna take her bullshit.

"It's just that you've changed a lot! You weren't like this before!" I yell louder.

"It's not me, Hwang Mi Young." Ji Yeon addresses me by my Korean name. "It's you. You have changed. Since we got together, you stopped hanging out with me, you've become more withdrawn and you've become colder. It's you who's wrong. You weren't like this before!"

A cold silence envelopes us. And I take a deep breath to calm me down.

"Listen-" Ji Yeon cuts me off by waving a finger in front of me. Hyun Joong remains seated in humiliation.

"I'm not listening to you anymore! You're just jealous because your best friend, whom you've taken for granted, whom you've underestimated, whom you thought would never get a guy, got a guy before you. You think you're better than me at all aspects in life but you're wrong, Tiffany Hwang!" The librarian looks at us and gives us the quiet sign by placing her finger on her lips. We look at her and look at each other again. Ji Yeon taps her boyfriend on the shoulder.

"Let's go. I'm not quite willing to waste my time and embarrass myself by arguing with this bitter, jealous, boy-less loser." Hyun Joong looks at me and shrugs. He stands up and follows Ji Yeon out of the library.

"Rot in hell! You…you…You best friend leaver! And best friend stealer!" I yell and sit back down, opening my notebook and continuing my essay despite teary eyes. The librarian approaches me and tells me to keep quiet. I nod and apologize.

I'm losing everything that I own. And because of that, I can't help but cry.

**III.**

Yuri walks around the campus and sees Minho waiting for her at her locker. She smiles at him and brushes her bangs to the side.

"Hey!" she says.

"Hey hot stuff!" Minho greets back. Yuri slaps his shoulder and leans on her locker.

"Doing anything tonight?" asks Minho while fixing his hair.

"Nah. Not really. Save for my dance practice but I can always miss out. Why?"

"I kinda wanna ask you out on a date." Minho says confidently, with all his playboy swagger. Yuri is taken aback.

"Are you serious? For real?" Yuri cries.

"Yeah. Do I look like I'm joking here?" Minho asks sarcastically.

"Well how am I supposed to know? You're never serious!"

"This time I am. So, what do you say?"

Yuri looks down confused. "But what about Raina?" Minho grunts at the sound of that name and runs a hand through his hair and gives himself a face palm.

"You saw what Raina and Key were doing. You saw what Raina was like when she met you! And you still care about how Raina would feel? Yuri, I don't give a shit about that whore anymore! She can fuck with Key for all I care. I was honest. She wasn't. End of story."

"I think she has a purpose." Yuri answers meekly.

"What?" Minho takes her shoulders and squeezes them. Yuri tries to remove his hands from her shoulders.

"I said, I think she has a purpose for doing that. I think there's a reason why she's with that guy." Yuri stands her ground and makes her point clear.

"What's that?"

"She knows you're unfaithful. She knows you've been spending time with me and it's hurting her. It's Raina who's been faithful all along and you've been cheating on her. And…"Yuri walks away from Minho with her hand on her forehead. Minho walks after her and grabs her shoulder, turning her to him.

"What are you talking about?" Minho asks angrily.

"That I don't want to be involved in this." Yuri explains.

"Why?"

"Because I think Raina's thinking we're together."

"Let her think whatever she wants to think. As I've said, I don't give a damn about her anymore."

"But-"

"But nothing. Yuri, you don't have to dwell on others' opinions. I don't care and I think you shouldn't, too. Don't listen to them. Their words can't kill you. Remember, what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger." Minho says with a wink.

"Are you-"

"No. Keep quiet. Don't talk and don't worry. I'm not cheating on anyone with anybody. She is. But I don't care. And you don't have to care. You shouldn't. What's important is, you're with me and I'm with you. We can spend time and get to know each other. I think that you'd make a really good…" Minho sees Yuri smile at his pause and they both chuckle at what he just said. Yuri shakes her head.

"I think I just overreacted. Okay. I'll make time for you later. I'll see." Yuri says semi-confidently.

"Don't see. Do." Minho follows. Yuri shakes her head, laughs, and looks down.

"I do want to see you later. And I will see you later." Yuri adds before walking away.

"Alright. See ya!"

"See ya!" Minho hollers back. He watches Yuri energetically skips to the dance studio to practice with her crew. As soon as he is sure that Yuri is gone, Minho turns his back and shakes his head.

"_New girls. They are so gullible." _Minho laughs to himself and walks along the corridor…

**[song: ".GO." by SHINee]**

Just then, the most beautiful (well, one of the) girl in school walks by Minho and drops her violin sheet. Minho sees her and is struck in awe. So starstruck is Minho that he rushes to the girl's side and helps her with her papers. The shuffled papers are picked up by the two when coincidentally, their hands touch. The beautiful girl looks up and sees Choi Minho looking into her eyes. Menacingly. The girl shows a fearful expression instead of a glad one because she knows who Choi Minho is and what Choi Minho is like. This knowledge of Minho's reputation strikes fear in her heart, making her stand as quickly as she can…

And run away.

She doesn't care about her music sheet. It is in Minho's hands and he is about to give it to her, but she runs away from him. Still feeling the magic of the beautiful girl's stare, Minho chases after her, only prompting the beautiful girl to run faster.

Who is this beautiful girl?

None other than Im Jin Ah. Also known as Nana.

Minho chases Nana all across the campus. Nana, who is wearing stilettos, is really having a hard time running away from the malicious Minho. Well, Minho's intention is just to give the music sheet that Nana dropped but at the back of his mind…Minho's lusting for her. After chasing for 15 minutes or so, Nana trips next to the girl's bathroom and runs in there to hide. Right now, Nana looks like a little doll who's running from a giant pedophile. Well there's some truth to that. Nana's a pretty doll who's running from Minho the maniac who has her music sheet and whose intentions are anything but pure.

Nana locks herself in the bathroom and sits on the floor. Like any suspense movie, she covers her mouth and prays that Minho doesn't find her.

Why is Nana so afraid of Minho? It's her first time to encounter Minho, what has she to be afraid of?

"_No. No. No. Not again. I don't want this to happen again." _

What really happened? Do you want me to tell you the story? Because I was there when it happened. I wasn't a participant. I was a mere observer. I saw what Minho did to Nana when he got drunk once.

But who is Nana?

Nana is one of Ga In's friends. Well, ex-friend now. When Ga In and Minho were together, Nana would always tag-along and feel out of place. So there was this party at this school once that they (and I) attended. There was dancing and music but strictly no drinking. But you guys know Ga In. She NEVER plays by the rules. She snuck in some beer and wine and gathered her friends to the corner and while the rest of the students were dancing, going crazy, and just having a good time, they were getting drunk and doing all sorts of malicious acts in the corner. Ga In was drunk but Minho was more drunk. Nana had some drinks but she was still in control, unlike Minho who was really out of his mind. Minho stood up and took Nana's hand. Ga In was surprised and snapped back into reality. She hit Minho with her bag but Minho wouldn't let go of Nana's hand. Nana tried to fight back but Minho was just too drunk. So drunk that he forced Nana to another corner and…did that. Ga In tried to stop Minho by drunkenly hitting him with her bag but to no avail. Minho just pushed her aside and continued to harass Nana. He had torn off her straps and pulled down her skirt before a guy came and pulled Minho away from Nana, allowing her to make her escape. Ga In slapped Minho and yelled at him, stopping the party.

How did I know this? Because I was there. I was one of Ga In's friends. I used to be really popular until they decided that I was too boring for them and dumped me. And because of what happened, Ga In dropped Nana from her list of friends and Minho with it.

Back to the present, Nana is hiding in the girls bathroom, her back against the door and her hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat through her chest. Nana is damn scared right now and she knows that Minho is just walking around, waiting for her to come out. What happened to her traumatized her so much that she does not dare go near another guy. The small spaces at the bottom of the door reveal Minho's shoes. This makes Nana's heart race even faster. She knows that Minho is nearby and she doesn't want history to repeat itself so to keep safe, she runs to the cubicle, locks herself in, and sits on the toilet seat.

"Nana! Nana! Where are you? You dropped your music sheet." Minho yells. No one responds. He shrugs and carries the music sheet with him to acting class.

When Nana was sure that Minho has left, she comes out of the cubicle and exits the bathroom. Upon exiting and sighing a breath of relief, she sees Minho with her music sheet in his hand. Her heart starts to race and her fingers and legs begin to shake. She runs away before he sees her but too late! Minho whips around at the sound of her heels and sees Nana running away. Filled with the desire to return the music sheet and to victimize her again, Minho runs after her. Their chase continues and Nana trips once more, snapping the heel of her left stiletto. Minho runs to her and tries to help her but Nana pushes him away and stands up to leave but her injury leaves her in a slow pace, making it easy for Minho to catch up. Minho coolly walks to her and grabs her arm tightly. Nana struggles to get away but Minho tightens his grip.

"Come with me…" Nana tries to scream but Minho covers her mouth. Nana can't stop moving her limbs, trying to break free from his maniac grasp. Minho takes her to the janitor's storage room and pushes her there. He enters the room and as you all know…history has repeated itself. Nana is being harassed by Minho for the second time.

Unfortunately for them, they were seen by someone.

Nicole.

Nicole is a close friend of Yuri's, as you know. And Nicole knows very well that Yuri is really close friends with Minho.

"_That asshole! Yuri has to know about this! She can't be next!"_

**IV.**

All is well at school…until

"MISS OH HYE RIN AND MR. KIM KI BUM! PLEASE REPORT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!" says the voice from the loudspeaker. The students hear this and look at Raina and Key. Key and Raina look at each other and rush to the Principal's Office. They knew they were in for something. Key slowly opens the door for Raina and enters afterwards. They see the Principal with a cross look on her face, her hands clasped together on her desk. Raina and Key could feel their hearts bursting out of their chests.

"Miss Oh, Mr. Kim, have a seat." offers the Principal. Key and Raina sit down, nervously waiting for the Principal's words.

"Why have you called for us?" asks Key.

"Because news has reached me that the two of you are dating? Am I right?" Now you know the Principal's not right. Key and Raina aren't dating. They're just pretending to be dating, just so that Raina will have something to show Minho and to prove to Minho that he's not the only one who can play polygamous. But I think Key took it a little too far.

"Y-yes?" Raina answers unsurely, looking nervously at Key. Key calmly looks at her and blinks.

"Oh? But you two know that this school is strict about public display of affection. It's alright for you two to date but please, know when and where to make love."

"Huh?" Key nervously asks. "What are you talking about?". The Principal raises her eyebrow and takes out an envelope with all the school documents. She opens it and fishes out 15 pictures of Key and Raina kissing and doing all sorts of things. This shocks Key and Raina as they never thought someone would take their pictures. The two see their pictures and Raina cries out loud, covering her mouth and this time, freely letting the tears flow. Her cheeks are streaked with mascara and Key places his hand on his forehead, stressfully trying to suppress the tears. So while Key's trying to internalize, Raina's bawling her eyes out.

"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? WHO? WHO DID THIS?" Raina yells at the Principal. The Principal maintains her calmness and stares at Raina who is going nuts over the pictures. She takes them in her hands and angrily places them on the Principal's table. "WHO DID THIS?"

"I'm sorry Ms. Oh, but I am not allowed to disclose that person's identity. It shall remain a secret." This only makes Raina cry even harder. She falls to the floor crying. Key, on the other hand, embarrassedly tries to pick her up and calm her down. As if that wasn't enough, the Principal has more words for the two of them.

"And in addition to that, because the two of you violated a major campus rule, I hereby disqualify the two of you from the Talent Month competition." Key bites his lip and releases Raina. He stressfully leans on the door of the office before grabbing the knob to leave. Raina realizes that she is on the floor, bawling her eyes out and stands up. She glances at the Principal and angrily exits the Principal's Office. She bangs the door behind her and runs as fast as she can to the bathroom with dark eyeliner and mascara circles around her eyes and flowing from her eyes. She locks herself in a cubicle and weeps.

Key on the other hand, angrily prances around the campus banging every locker in sight. The students stop all their doings to stare at him and to shy away from him, fearing that he might grab them and unleash his anger on them. Key is nice when he's happy but when Key's angry, he's an entirely different person. Like the Hulk. I actually happen to pass by Key at the time and he looks at me. I fix my large, white-rimmed glasses and look at him back before sticking my nose into my notebook. But I feel Key's evil stare even though I am already several feet away from him. He's angry with everybody because I think he's holding everyone as a suspect. What that person did whoever he/she is (I think you already know because I've narrated it in the first part of this chapter) was wrong. But you know that person, she's always wrong and proud of it.

Ga In is walking down the hall with her hair bouncing like it's shit. She grabs a strand and twirls it around her finger while chewing bubblegum and blowing a bubble. The guys stare and the girls glare, yada yada. But if there's one guy who's not too pleased with Ga In, that's Key. Key knows what Ga In and Raina have going on and this just gives him hunches about the pictures. Ga In and Key cross paths and evilly glance at each other. However, their looks change after they have passed each other by. Key maintains his angry facial expression while Ga In goes from snobby and arrogant to guilty. She stops in her tracks and looks back at Key who keeps on walking. She looks down and shakes her head before looking up to walk on.

"_What've I done?"_ thinks Ga In. Oh! And for the first time, Ga In's feeling guilty. She usually does bad things without feeling guilty.

Raina is still in the bathroom, sulking. Her white dress' sleeve is now black, pink, red, and all sorts of colors because of her makeup. Remind her to use waterproof mascara next time. Ga In enters the bathroom and hears Raina's wails, only making her feel more guilty about what she has done. She looks down and shakes her head before facing the mirror to re-apply her makeup with Raina's sobs as her background music. Each sob is filled with agony, regret, and guilt. Ga In can't help but tear up but she prefers to stick to what she said and to stand for what she just did.

"_She's out of the competition now. You're gonna win. End of story."_ Ga In takes a deep breath and after a few retouches, she smiles and glances at the cubicle where the cries come from. She shrugs and laughs to herself. _"See ya, don't wanna be ya!"_ Ga In dashes out of the bathroom and walks boastfully and proudly down the hall.

Sun Ye and Hye Lim have been looking for Raina but can't seem to find her. They see Key walking and approach him.

"Key! Have you seen-"Sun Ye is cut off by Key.

"NO! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOUR SLUT OF A FRIEND!" Key pushes Sun Ye away and walks off. Sun Ye rubs her arm and tells Hye Lim to look for Raina.

"We have to find Raina. Their names were broadcasted earlier." Sun Ye continues.

"I think she's in the bathroom. That's the place where she always hangs out." Hye Lim says.

Hye Lim and Sun Ye head to the bathroom and upon entering, a shrill cries and heartbreaking sobs greet them.

"That has got to be Raina." whispers Sun Ye. "There's no way you can deny the cry." Hye Lim nods and knocks on the cubicle door.

"Raina. Raina. Are you there?" Hye Lim calls gently.

"No! Raina's not here! Go away!" Raina shoos her friends.

"Raina, it's us. We want to talk to you." Hye Lim says

"How many times do I have to tell you, Raina is not here!" Sun Ye gets pissed and bangs on the cubicle door. God! Don't you hate it when Sun Ye's angry?

"Raina, now's no time to be childish. Open this goddamn door or I'm gonna bust in there and drag-" Raina opens the door. Sun Ye calms down and smiles at her friend who is seated on the toilet seat, her white dress turned black, her makeup all over her face, and her handkerchief a melting pot of colors.

"I'm here. In my messy glory! What do you want?" Raina answers.

"We want answers. What happened to you? What's going on?"

"Long story. It's best if you don-"

"We want answers." Sun Ye says with gritted teeth. Raina's lips shake and as soon as she feels the pressure rising to her throat, she breaks down again.

"Ohhh God!" Hye Lim moans and gives herself a face palm.

"SUN YE! HYE LIM! I LOST EVERYTHING!" Raina buries her face in her hands. "FIRST, I LOST MY BOYFRIEND! HE'S CHEATING ON ME! SECOND, I LOST KEY! WE WERE CAUGHT MAKING OUT BY SOME ASSHOLE WHO TOOK PICTURES OF US SECRETLY AND GAVE THEM TO THE PRINCIPAL! THIRD, I'M OUT OF THE FUCKING COMPETITION!" Raina continues to bawl her eyes out. Sun Ye and Hye Lim feel for her so they go in the cubicle and comfort their friend.

"I mean, the Principal disqualified us from the competition! Because of the pictures! I am so stupid! Worst part of it is, my boyfriend, Minho, who's supposed to be comforting me, is nowhere to be found! I don't know where Minho is right now! I need him! Why isn't he here?"

"Raina, you have us. We're here for you!" Hye Lim says with a smile. Raina looks at her doubtfully and buries her face in her hands once more.

"That makes two of you! You girls are always here for me. But look what I lost! I lost my boyfriend, I lost my dignity, I lost the competition. I lost everything!"

"You know what, Raina? You don't need Minho." Sun Ye says.

"What do you mean, 'you don't need Minho'? I need Minho! He's everything to me!"

"If he's everything to you, where is he now? Yes, you proved that he's everything to you because you were there when he needed you. But now that you need him, where is he?" Raina falls into a deep silence.

"That's right." Sun Ye continues. "Because he's just using you. He's using you. But who does he love? He loves that Yuri girl!"

"I…" Raina starts. The two girls look at her awkwardly. "I don't give a damn. I don't care what you people think of us. What's important is he loves me and I love him-"

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE RAINA!" Sun Ye curses out loud. "STOP THE SAPPY TALK! TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT, HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU! HE'S JUST USING YOU! HE LOVES YURI!" Raina cannot take it anymore. She stands up and runs away from her friends.

"WAIT!" Hye Lim and Sun Ye run after their friend. Raina-who is a colorful mess because of her makeup-runs down the corridors, attracting attention because of her appearance. Hye Lim and Sun Ye chase her and as soon as Raina gets to the Acting Department, a big scene greets her…

We're gonna cut this part for some suspense…

**V.**

Yuri, HyoYeon, Min, and some other dancers are practicing for their Talent Month competition against Gahee and her crew. Yuri dances the most energetically, maybe because she's inspired and excited for her date with Minho. Yuri has to admit, though, she's feeling something for Minho. It might not exactly be love but something's there for Minho. I mean, come on! Who can resist the Flaming Charisma that is Choi Minho (I'm not attracted to Minho so maybe I'm not a girl).

"Where the hell is Nicole?" asks HyoYeon.

"I don't know. She went to drink some water. I don't know why she hasn't returned yet." Yuri answers mindlessly, her focus on the dance and on her date with Minho.

Minutes later, Nicole comes bursting through the door, dazed and out of breath. The others gather round her, worried.

"What's wrong? Looks like you've just seen a ghost." Min says.

"KWON YURI!" Nicole yells while bent down. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT I SAW THIS MORNING? DO YOU?" Yuri looks at Nicole surprised and confused.

"What the hell are you saying?" Yuri asks.

"I saw…I saw your new friend…Choi Minho making out with some girl in the janitor's closet." Yuri stands up and walks to Nicole.

"Don't you dare spread rumors about Minho. He doesn't do that. He is not a playboy and he himself clarified that. He broke up with Raina, doesn't give a shit about her anymore, and we're going out on a date tonight." Yuri maintains.

"But you don't understand! Minho…he was making out with a girl… he even forced her to go with him to the janitor's closet."

"You're just making things up!" Yuri flares up. The entire dance class looks at her. They've never seen her this angry. "Why can't you accept that Minho and I like each other! Why? Are you the only person in this world that I should concentrate on?"

Well, Nicole has to admit, she is kind of jealous of the attention Minho's getting from Yuri. Nicole really likes Yuri as a friend and for Yuri, who's new in school, to completely ignore her because of a boy is just painful. So yeah, technically, Nicole wants Yuri to focus on the competition and on her friends, not on Minho. Part of me thinks that Yuri should really drop Minho and stop holding on to his words. I mean, who believes Choi Minho? Well, stupid and desperate girls do believe his words but Yuri isn't stupid neither is she desperate. She's new and she doesn't know any better about Minho. So to stay safe, I think it's best if she just listens to Nicole and take her advice, considering the fact that Nicole has been here longer than Yuri so she knows more.

But since Yuri is a girl of her own principles, one who never takes advices, she lashes back and insists on her beliefs. Nicole tries to talk Yuri out of it but to no avail.

"Yuri, listen to me please! This is not out of selfishness! It's out of selflessness, actually!" Nicole explains. "Minho is not a good man! He's a playboy! He's just saying that so he can play around with your feelings and leave you for good. Please Yuri, you're my friend! I don't want you to get hurt! Plus, I don't want this relationship of yours to affect our dance! Please Yuri! I beg of you!"

"You deserve an award for your stellar acting!" Yuri says sarcastically and walks away from dance practice. HyoYeon and Min try to stop her but she pushes them aside. "If you girls really are my friends, you'll support me in whatever decision! But since you're talking me out of something that's potentially harmless and even beneficial, then let me be the first to say that you are not true friends!' Yuri storms out of the studio and walks down the hallway. She heads to her locker and picks her things up and decides to go check on Minho in the Acting Department. However, she sees Raina standing at the door of the exact same room with a shocked look on her face. Wanting to hit back for the coldness that she received last time, Yuri snobs Raina but peers through the window just to check what Raina's so shocked about. What she sees almost made her drop her things.

Minho's not really doing his skit. He's in the acting room, forcing Nana to make out with him. The scene strikes Raina but strikes Yuri even more. Raina is used to Minho's casanovan ways and she sure knows how to live with them, but Yuri is relatively new to Minho and she believed what he told her last time. And now, here she is standing next to her so-called "rival" watching the guy they've been "fighting" over make out with a girl they don't even know. Raina stands there, all numb and cried out, her dress stained black. Well, not all though.

"There's your man." Raina says unmoved. Yuri looks at her with teary eyes, wiping them from time to time before they get the chance to flow from her eyes. "There's your boyfriend right there. Making out with another girl." Yuri takes a deep breath and says,

"B-but…"

"Yes. He is like that. He's always been a playboy. Ever since the day Ga-In left him, he's been going around hooking girls up and leaving them hanging either with a good sensation or a bad one. That guy is the most brutal guy here. I don't think he sees girls as humans. He sees us women as dolls. Dolls that you can do whatever you want with and throw away when you think it's "broken" or "old". That's what we are to him." Raina says in a dazed state. Yuri looks at her creeped out and confused.

"I don't understand. He said he didn't care about anyone but me. And that he changed his ways, and-" Raina turns to her and stares at her coldly.

"You go believe whatever you want to believe. I heard you're a stubborn, strong-willed girl. Maybe it's because you've never fallen in love before. Wait till you fall for someone, let's see where your strength will go." Raina walks away from her, leaving her in disbelief.

"_It can't be. He's not cheating on me. He's just acting. Raina's just overreacting because Minho replaced her with me. Besides, why would he make out in a room where the door has a window, making them completely visible? He's just acting. Why should I believe Raina? She wasn't there when Minho told me he was faithful and he has changed. She can't speak for him. She doesn't care about him. For all I know, she's just bitter." _Yuri maintains in her mind. It is clear that she's in a state of denial. She walks away and goes home to get ready for her date with Minho.

**VI.**

It's official. Seo Joo Hyun is now one of the most popular girls in school. So popular that it's pissing me off! And you know what pisses me off more? The fact that the guy I like is really close friends with her. It's so annoying. How is it that my sister, who's adopted and has just arrived, is so popular and me, who's been here for God-knows-how-long, is still unrecognized?

Even the popular girls love her! Ga In chats a lot with her. Gahee, Soo Young, and Hyun Ah think she's cool. Even Minho checked her out once! I used to be friends with those people and now look at me! Quiet, isolated, and down in the dumps.

And Talent Week is coming. Talent Week is coming and my sister's going to perform. Great! She's going to be even more popular! I have to do something to stop this.

Wait. I'm actually talking like a super villain! I'm supposed to be supporting my sister and I should be happy for her but instead, I feel jealous of her.

So I see her practicing the piano once more, and singing along with it. I smile slightly, proudly but the jealousy kicks in and I turn the smiley face into a frown. I stare at her. I try to think of the possible ways to put her down. She seems unstoppable. That fat face of hers! I just want to pop it.

What if I spread a rumor about her? Would that help? Yeah right! It'd help her become more popular.

What if I hook her up with Hyun Joong and tell…

No. I'm not even going to. I just need to find a fast, believable, and easy way. I thought of doing something that's so unforgettably traumatic she'll never show her face in this school again!

What if I align with the popular girls (Ga In, namely), kind of like re-join forces with my old popular girl friends and take a few bad shots of her, spread it, humiliate her and watch her popularity decline. And I will be on top of the world once more.

But I look at Seohyun once more, this time with a different mood and a different emotion brewing in me. I watch her innocently play the piano and sweetly sing her song. The sight of it warms my heart and makes me feel guilty about my thoughts. I pity her All she wants is to enhance her talent and possibly show it to the world. Although she's not my real sister, I should be supporting her because she still is my sister and she has a lot of potential in her. But jealousy and anger are such strong feelings. With them in you, you can't win.

Then in comes Choi Seung hyun with two cups of latte from the latte bar. Seohyun hears the door open and stoops playing for a while. I lean on the wall and eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Hi! What brings you here? Wow! Latte. For me? Thanks!" Seohyun takes the cup and places it on top of the grand piano. Seung hyun takes a sip from his cup and leans on the wall, looking at Seohyun admiringly.

"Nah, I just came to hear you sing and watch you play. Can't wait for that duet of ours." Seung hyun brings up the Talent Show competition. Seohyun's eyes widen.

"Oh! I don't know what we're gonna sing. What are we gonna sing, anyways?"

"It's just the most beautiful song I know." Seung hyun smiles. "Because I want to dedicate it to someone." Oh shit. He's gonna dedicate it to someone.

**[song: "TTL" by T-ara and Supernova]**

The tune is familiar. My ears widen at the sound of it I know that song from somewhere, my mind goes. I peer at the window and see them sitting really close to each other. Seohyun plays the piano gracefully and sings the first verse and as soon as the first verse ends, Seung hyun enters with his rap. I hate to say it, but their collaboration is very beautiful.

I can't be swayed. I can't. I must have Seung hyun for myself. Even if it means hurting my sister, I will. I've loved Seung hyun for so long that seeing him with my sister, even though they aren't dating, is just too much for me to bear. To me, Seung hyun is mine. He's been mine for 3 years.

"So you're dedicating this song to someone?" asks Seohyun innocently. Seung hyun takes his rimmed glasses off (which makes me melt) and answers, "Yes."

"Really?" Seohyun asks curiously. "To whom is it for?"

"You'll find out sooner." Seung hyun replies with a wink. I could only wish it was me. Seohyun tucks her hair behind her ear and continues her piano playing as I spy on them from behind the door.


	6. VI

I.

Yuri is all set for her date with Minho. She has done her hair, her makeup, and has picked out the nicest dress in her closet as well as the most beautiful pair of shoes to match it. She anxiously walks out of her room and out of the house to head to the park, which is just a short walk away from her house. With a blue purse in hand, Yuri walks with the grace and elegance of a blooming princess. She has never looked this beautiful. Her cellphone vibrates as Minho has sent her a text message. She pulls out her phone and reads it.

"Yuri, meet me at the park. 8 sharp. Don't be late : ). Love, Minho" reads the message. Yuri smiles and blushes at his sweetness. How could she ever go wrong? She begins to think about Minho and all the nice things he told her today. Then she remembers what Raina told her about Minho being a playboy and treating girls like dolls. Then, it is followed by what Nicole told her, about Minho making out with Nana in the janitor's closet. Negative thoughts begin to cloud her mind, wiping her smile off her face.

"_I don't care what she or anyone says. Minho loves me and he asked me out and that's what's important. Why can't they accept the fact that I like Minho. That somebody actually likes Minho. I know he had affairs with women in the past but that's the past and it should be buried. Minho's changed and as far as I'm concerned, he changed in a positive way, not like what the others have been saying. Just don't care. I don't care about them." _

Yuri arrives at the park and sits on the bench, patiently waiting for Minho. She sits with her legs crossed and her bag on her lap. To keep herself from feeling bored, she pulls out her iPod and listens to her favorite songs.

[MINHO'S RESIDENCE]

"_Yuri? Ha! Gullible girl! Just a few words and a little bit of magic and you can fool her! Whoever told her I liked her? Yuri? Me? Together? Ridiculous! I only want her for something not for her! Who would like a girl like Yuri? Rebellious and hard-headed. I hate girls like that! But she's not as hard as she used to be, now is she? Maybe because I fooled her a bit and she now thinks she's the hottest piece of ass in school because the most popular guy asked her out. That's why I love new girls! There's always a sweet, innocent surprise waiting for me!"_ Minho fixes his shirt and his jeans. He takes a necklace with his name in Chinese characters and wears it around his neck. He gets his jacket and wears it before heading out.

"_She's a fool to trust me. She can wait at the park all night if she wants to. But me? I've got some girls to fuck tonight!"_

Unknown to the school is Minho's reputation outside. Well, his reputation as a playboy in school is pretty notorious but they don't really know what he's like outside. Nobody knows about the real Minho. Not even Raina or Key. Most especially, not Yuri. He gets in his car and drives it to the bar instead of the park where Yuri is waiting. Upon arriving, he parks his car and exits it, smoothening his hair and smarting his jacket. He enters the bar and loud music, sexy waitresses, drunk men, and a shady atmosphere greet him. He pulls out a cigarette stick from his pocket, lights it up and smokes like he's never smoked before. Minho calls some girls and flirt a little with them before getting dirty. Some of his guy friends show up and high-five with him, as well as the girls he's with. The guy friends sit with him and they all drink, smoke, fuck, and have a great night out.

Minho, however, made the costly mistake of coming to the bar. He didn't know that someone was watching over him.

That someone is me.

Here I am, on a bar stool sipping some Vodka Mudshake when Minho's loud voice echoes throughout the bar, proof that he is indeed having a good time. I'm not drunk but somehow, I recognize the voice that's been yelling "I LOVE TO FUCK GIRLS" drunkenly. My eyes are blurry and I'm a bit sleepy, but I try to open my eyes to check who the noisy idiot is. To my surprise, it's Minho. I wasn't expecting him to be here smoking weed, getting drunk, and giving girls STDs. Now I know why Minho's a playboy. He's addicted to girls. To sex. He has vices. And he's been keeping it from everyone in school. Well, not so secret now, huh Minho? Because I brought my camera and I'm gonna take pictures of you!

I hate Minho. I've hated him since the day he set foot in the school. He's an arrogant son of a bitch who thinks he's on top of the world because he's handsome, rich, talented and a chick magnet. But I think I'm a guy because I'm not attracted to him. Well, I'd rather be a guy than to be attracted to and be fooled by that asshole. I mean, look at what he did! He broke up with Ga In, the hottest girl in school because to him she wasn't hot enough; he's cheating on Raina and if that's not enough, he humiliates and hurts her. And now. Right now. He asked Yuri out on a date and told her to meet him at the park. Well, Yuri's a new girl so what does she know? She's at the park waiting patiently for Minho, whom she thought loved her so. While Minho is here at the bar getting drunk and fucked up. If that's not enough for you, he's trying to get his hands on Nana's junk. And if that's still not enough for you, he's about to get undressed now.

Good thing my digital camera is with me. I pull it out and take pictures of them. 20 pictures at least. One girl starts dancing for Minho and since I don't really want to take pictures anymore, I just video it.

Someone's gonna be in big trouble tomorrow.

[AT THE PARK]

"God! What's taking Minho so long! He told me not to be late but it's been 30 minutes and he's still not here! I've called him 5 times but he's not answering. What the hell is taking him so long?" Yuri starts to cry as she sits humiliated on the bench. Finally, she stands up and walks home, trying to stop the tears from flowing. Yuri always wants to appear like a strong girl who can hold her own but now that she realizes that she's been fooled, she just wants to let that image go and cry her heart out.

That's what she's going to do as soon as she gets home.

Yuri bursts through the door and slams it, locking it angrily. She runs to her room and locks herself in there before throwing herself on the bed and crying. Yuri cries like she's never cried before, pouring out all emotions.

"WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY…" Yuri wails. "HOW COULD HE DO THIS TO ME? I TRUSTED HIM! I THOUGHT I COULD BUT HE LEFT ME HANGING?" Yuri lies on her back and takes a pillow to hug. She let her tears flow freely from her eyes, something that she has not done in a long time. Good thing she's alone at home, otherwise, her parents would come up and interrogate her. Yuri gets her cellphone and re-reads the sweet messages that Minho sent her. She can't help but tear up while reading them. Despite the thought of him fooling her lingering at the back of her mind, she still maintains that Minho loves her.

"_I think he just wasn't able to inform me that he couldn't come…"_ At this point, I'm starting to think that Yuri is pretentious and delusional. Come on, girl! It's clear that Minho's just fooling around with you the way he's fooling around with Raina. First, the kissing thing with Nana. Second, this. Do you think he's really in love with you? You're a tough lady! You're better than that!

[AT THE BAR]

All the pictures are ready. I'm going to show the principal tomorrow. But before that, I have to show Raina and Yuri first.

II.

Hyun Joong and Ji Yeon have not talked in a while, which actually caused me to worry about their relationship. Things are kinda messy at Hyun Joong's place while Ji Yeon is suffering from artist block, just a few weeks before Talent Month. So Ji Yeon is at home, meditating and trying to source out inspiration from the little things around her, to no avail. But let us focus on Hyun Joong. Hyun Joong's problem is really big. His parents are getting a divorce and Hyun Joong's kinda affected. Because of that, Hyun Joong developed depression and the reason I haven't been seeing him lately is I think because he's at home cutting his wrists and trying to commit suicide.

The sad life of an artist. Just when you thought he was perfect.

Ji Yeon doesn't know about this and I don't think she cares to know because she's having problems with her design for the competition. Plus, her family's kinda tight on money so she's gonna have to win this for her dad who's supporting her. But I asked Ji Yeon once if she still loved Hyun Joong and she said yes. So that means, their relationship is still on. Just so happens that they haven't communicated in a while, which kind of makes me feel happy because I have my friend all to myself. At the same time, it makes me sad because the reason they're apart is because Hyun Joong is having a conflict with himself. He just can't deal with his parents' situation and it has put so much pressure on him that he wants to just end it. Actually, his parents are fighting over him but that's just what I know. I don't know the entire story, neither does Ji Yeon.

Ji Yeon and Hyun Joong meet up. Ji Yeon notices that Hyun Joong is looking all different. He has scars on his face, his arms that are showing have scars and cuts on them, too. He looks very different from the Hyun Joong she knew. His face looks stressed and tired and it's as if the world has fallen on him. Like he has the world on his shoulders, he looks so burdened. Ji Yeon has no idea what's happening to him so she, being a concerned and caring girlfriend, asks him immediately.

"What the fuck happened to you? Why are you all scarred? Why do you look differently?" Ji Yeon has so many question but Hyun Joong can't bring himself to answer even one.

"Well, because…I…" Hyun Joong stammers.

"What?" Ji Yeon anxiously anticipates his answer. She hasn't spoken to him in a while and right now, she wants nothing more than to hear from the man she loves.

"I'm not allowed to tell you." Hyun Joong walks away from her but Ji Yeon quickly grabs his hand and pulls him back.

"You have to tell me. I'm willing to help you!" Ji Yeon pleads.

"There's nothing you can do. This is a deep-seated problem I'm dealing with here!" Hyun Joong insists on keeping it secret. Ji Yeon feels betrayed and neglected.

"Does it involve me?" Ji Yeon asks out of the blue.

"No. Why do you want to know anyways? What are you going to do as soon as you find out?"

"Then if it doesn't involve me then why can't you tell me? Why do you have to hide from me?"

"Because there are some things in this world that aren't for you to know. So if I were you, I'd go back to my class and stop pestering my boyfriend about whatever his problem is." Hyun Joong just loses it and walks away from Ji Yeon. Far, far away. Ji Yeon nearly tears up at her boyfriend's secretiveness. She walks away from the spot where they talked and looks for me.

I see Ji Yeon walking swiftly towards me. I turn her way and surprisingly ask her what's wrong.

"What the hell happened to you? Why do you look so troubled and distressed?" I ask like I don't know what happened between her and Hyun Joong or with Hyun Joong at least.

"Hyun Joong has a huge problem. He came to me earlier looking all haggard and he had scars and bruises on his face and his arms and it just scared me to death."

"God! What the fuck happened to him?" I exclaim, pretending to be innocent.

"I have no idea."

"Try asking him, Ji Yeon."

"I did. I even begged him to tell me. But he just wouldn't. He's keeping it from me." Ji Yeon replies.

"You have to know. He has to let you know. Who knows? You could help him, maybe." I say.

"I don't know. But his situation is honestly scaring me." Ji Yeon starts to cry. I roll my eyes and fix my glasses.

"You go talk to him. I recommend it, Ji Yeon. Go to him and talk to him. Force him out of his shell. Like, what the fuck, Ji? You're in a relationship with someone and you can't even get him to open up?"

"But he-"

"Cause if you won't do it…" I fix my glasses and place my notebook under my arm. "I will." I walk away and try to find Hyun Joong. Ji Yeon chases me and taps my shoulder.

"I will talk to him." she bravely says. "If it's the only way to save his life and his pride, I will talk to him." Ji Yeon walks past me and I widen my eyes in amazement. Never have I seen Ji Yeon this brave and willing. She walks around, looking for Hyun Joong and upon finding him, she taps him on the shoulder again.

"What do you want?" Hyun Joong whips around angrily.

"I want to help you. I can tell something's wrong. You're not telling me something."

"Why do you need to know?" Hyun Joong holds her shoulders and shakes her. "Why?"

"Because I love you. And I can't stand seeing you hurt. I want to know what's going on. Why do you look so stressed. You've been really stressed lately. You've been hurting yourself, I can see. You've become so withdrawn and all this I didn't know of until now. Please Hyun Joong…"

Hyun Joong removes his hands from Ji Yeon's shoulders. He breathes heavily and exhales all his troubles.

"I thought you forgot about me. We haven't talked in a while." Ji Yeon shakes her head.

"No. No I haven't. I haven't forgotten about you and I never will!"

"I thought you didn't love me anymore. You haven't talked to me in a while."

"Things have been really crazy, Hyun Joong. I tried to find time for you but I couldn't. Forgive me, please."

"Come…" Hyun Joong leads her to the bench near the lockers and the drinking fountain. They sit down and worriedly look at each other. Ji Yeon is the more affected one because Hyun Joong has been keeping his troubles secret from her.

"What is wrong. Please…tell me." Ji Yeon begs.

"My parents are getting a divorce. They're separated as of now. And my mother's just inconsolable. She's been crying for days now. Crying, smoking, and drinking. I'm currently living with my mother but I get to visit my dad, too. My dad's just a different story. He's become violent since the divorce. Once I tried to visit him, he beat me up and insulted me, left me stripped off my pride. I went home that day crying and in despair. I know it's rare for guys to cry and I know that guys aren't supposed to cry but I cried like hell. As if that wasn't enough, my mother came up to my room and insulted me, hit me, beat me up. For what? For visiting my father…" Hyun Joong begins to tear up. Ji Yeon takes his hand in her and kisses it.

"Come on, you can make it through this…" Hyun Joong takes a deep breath and shakes his head.

"Do you ever wonder why I'm so quiet?" he throws this question at his girlfriend. Ji Yeon shakes her head and meekly negates.

"No."

"Because my parents have been doing this to me since I was a kid. My parents are both bipolar and it hurts because when they experience episodes or sudden emotional changes, they get really violent and physical and it hurts me. They divorced because of that and now that I'm living with my mother, it doesn't get any worse!"

So that's why Hyun Joong's quiet. He has troubles. Deep-seated troubles.

"God…" Ji Yeon throws herself at him and gives him a comforting embrace. She cries for him and he cries for himself, too.

"That's why I've been hurting myself."

"Don't." Ji Yeon breaks away from the embrace. "You have someone…me." Hyun Joong's face lightens up.

"You'll always be here for me?"

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?" asks Ji Yeon. Hyun Joong nods. "That sealed our deal. That we will always be there for each other when we need each other."

Hyun Joong smiles slightly despite the pain and kisses Ji Yeon.

As for me, I have other things to work on. In the Principal's Office.

**III.**

Yuri comes to school and upon entering the dance studio, encounters Raina standing at the opposite side of the room.

"What are you doing here? You're not a dance student." Yuri asks.

"I've come to tell you to come with me." Raina says.

"What's this about? Don't you have better things to do than to tag me for some chit chat?"

"It's not chitchat. It's something important. It must be because the Principal's calling for us. So stop being stubborn, take my hand and follow me." Yuri extends her arm and Raina grabs her by the wrist, dragging her out of the dance hall. Yuri pulls away and pushes Raina slightly.

"What the fuck, girl? Where are you taking me and why do you have to grab my wrist? Don't you know I have to practice my dance for Talent Month?"

"Well I have to practice my number, too. But you know what? Something's going on in the Principal's Office. Ga In and Tiffany are there and they're looking for us.

"Ga In? Tiffany? What the? Who the? Please tell me what's going on!" Yuri demands.

"I don't know either. The Principal just wants us to go to her office." Raina says.

"You're dragging me into something even you don't know? You're insane!"

"I'm not insane. There's something going on and it involves you, me, and Ga In. Apparently, I think I know what this is about." Yuri furrows her brows and tries to remember everything her friends told her. Apparently, I think Yuri's starting to have an idea on what this is about. Or who.

"I think I know what this is about." she says under her breath. The two girls reach the Principal's Office and enter the room.

"Hello. Glad you girls made it. Please, have a seat." Raina and Yuri sit together, avoiding Ga In at all costs.

"You called for us. Why?" asks Yuri.

"Because Ms. Hwang here showed me some pictures. Pictures of Choi Minho doing unimaginable things. Things a good student shouldn't be doing. Now, I want you girls to-"

"Hold on!" Yuri stands up and cuts the Principal. The Principal is taken aback at her straightforward attitude. Even I back up and lean against the wall. Her finger is pointing at the Principal and you can see the really frustrated expression on her face. She takes the pictures that I took and looks at them. She covers her mouth and starts to tremble in fear, sadness, and anger. "Minho? What is this about?"

"Very surprised at your blunt attitude, Ms. Kwon. That's pretty rare for a new student. Anyways, Tiffany showed me pictures of Minho drinking, smoking, and having sex with several girls at a bar. These pictures were taken last night. I called you girls because I noticed that the three of you are the closest to Choi Minho. I want to know, does he ever come drunk or under the influence of some substance?"

"No." Raina. "Not that I know of."

"Last night?" Yuri asks. "But, we were supposed to go out on a date last night. You mean-" Yuri's tears tremble in her eyes. Bravely, she wipes them but when she sees the pictures once more, she lets them freely flow from her eyes before covering her face to weep. Raina looks at her and feels the urge to comfort her, but refuses knowing that she is Minho's other woman.

"Well I can tell you something." Ga In speaks up. "Minho is a real jerk when he's drunk. He's come drunk twice or thrice already and when he's drunk, he trashes the place, he curses at anyone and he gropes girls out of the blue. He's done that before and I think he's about to do it again."

"Matter of fact." I speak up. "He brought alcoholic drinks here once." I glare at Ga In. "At a party, he and his friends drank and he got so drunk he forced himself onto Nana."

"Nana? Im Jin ah?" asks the Principal.

"Yes."

"Wait. Let's sort this out. Ga In, how are you related to Minho?"

"I'm his ex-girlfriend. Longest he's had. We were together for 2 years until I caught him cheating." she replies.

"Tiffany?"

"No, ma'am! I'm just a witness here!" I say.

"Raina. You are?"

"I'm his girlfriend."

"But you're with Key right?"

"It's a long story. Key and I aren't together…you don't need to know that."

The Principal arches her eyebrow and scans the room. She eyes Yuri whose face is buried in her hands, crying.

"Miss Kwon."

"Yuri, please."

"Yuri. How are you related to Minho?" Yuri removes her hands from her face. She looks at everyone in the room.

"I'm Minho's girlfriend. He said he and Raina were over but he never told me about his other affairs."

"You're dating Minho?" Ga In stands and points at Yuri. "Wait. I know you! You're the girl I bumped into on the first day!"

"Son Ga In? I know you. Minho would tell me about you. He told me about the fights you had when you were together. He told me he and Raina are no longer together." Yuri's watery eyes turn to Raina who in turn is trying really hard to prevent the tears from flowing again.

"He said you weren't together anymore. That's why I went with him!" Raina, for the first time in her life, lashes out at Yuri. I lean even more against the wall with my eyes opening wide.

"You should've known better than to believe Minho, you imbecile! I told you once but you didn't listen to me! I know him better so you shouldn't have gone against it!"

"I'M A NEW STUDENT HERE, RAINA! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I'M A NEW STUDENT HERE! I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYONE THAT WELL AND SOMEONE ALREADY HAD ME FOOLED!" Yuri breaks down and cries. Raina and Ga In stare at her coldly. I see the look on their eyes and it really makes me feel bad for Yuri. Sensing the cold treatment she is getting from the two girls who refuse to stay on her side, I approach Yuri slowly and sit beside her. I place my arm around her shoulder and embrace her. Ga In and Raina continue to talk to the Principal as well as swear under their breaths.

"She is such a whore!" Raina whispers angrily. "She didn't even care to verify if Minho was just kidding her! All she did was say yes to him without even knowing his past."

"Well apparently, she didn't care about his past. All she cared about was his so-called 'love'. She is such a fool!" Ga In whispers back.

I comfort Yuri who is crying not really hysterically but is in a bad state right now.

"I am so sorry…I should've listened to my friends. But I didn't. I was so stubborn! I knew something was wrong but I went against my guts!" Yuri whimpers. I embrace her tightly.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. He's the jerk. He's playing around with all of you!"

"I just feel so guilty. I feel bad for not listening to my friends. They warned me but I didn't listen. And now here I am feeling the worst I've felt in years."

"But that's the point. You didn't know. You're new here, Yuri. What do you know about the people."

"I actually don't feel like seeing anyone right now. I just want to go home and cry. "

"No." I try to stop her. "Do not. You go and practice for your dance. Talent Month's coming up."

"To hell with Talent Month. I'm the biggest loser in this school and for that, I deserve no praise." Yuri stands up and walks away. Raina and Ga In follow her by eyes. I sit there and look down. Why is this happening?

"I'm going outside." Raina says. She exits the office and goes to one part of the hallway. The quietest part. There she sobs and sobs till her makeup fades and her mascara flows again. Remind Raina to buy waterproof mascara.

Ga In looks at me and the Principal and leaves. I remained seated there with my head down, thinking of what I've done.

I caused too much misery.

**[song: "Because of You" by After School]**

Raina is in one corner, crying her heart out. She is seated with her knees to her chest and her arms folded on her knees. She thinks of all the memories she had with Minho. All the fun times they shared. All the quarrels they had. All the time they spent. Ruined. By one girl. Who was also fooled by Minho and is crying, too.

"_Ajikdo…na geudaereul…ijji mothae." _Raina says in her mind. She takes out the pendant that Minho gave her. A heart locket that opens and reveals her picture with Minho. This makes her cry even harder. Then she starts thinking about the hard times they had. When Minho would get drunk and violent and hit her. When Minho would humiliate her in front of her friends and when Minho would just be too controlling. It hurt her so much. But what hurts her more is the fact that Minho had the guts to flirt with Yuri and more women. She now feels bad for Yuri.

"_How could he do this to me? He said he loved me but he was just playing? Am I a doll to him? Something that he can just play with? I've been a martyr for too long. Who am I kidding? I knew about his infidelity. I knew he was flirting with other girls and if I'm not mistaken, he has more than 1 other woman. But what did I do? Nothing! I refused to talk to him about it. I preferred to stay calm and keep shut about it. Like it wasn't wrong. I cried so many times. I'm a weak leaf. I'm as light as a feather. I just let someone push me around and do my wrong. I'm a huge fool for that! I loved him with all my heart but what did he do? He womanized like there was no tomorrow! And now here I am, crying in a corner, listening to the raindrops."_

Yuri busts inside the dance studio where her crew are practicing. They all look at her but she doesn't look at them back. Instead, she goes to the bathroom inside the studio and locks herself up. That's where she weeps.

"_What kind of a monster is he? I can't believe someone like him has the guts to do this to a woman! More so, someone who is new and naïve in this school! He took advantage of me! He used me for his ego! Then he got caught and what? Where is he? They're not even investigating him! Why? Because he's the most popular! Favoritism! Bullshit! No matter. I must not cry. I am strong. If they're not gonna handle this case properly and if they're just gonna leave it lying down, I'm gonna do something about it."_ Yuri emerges from the cubicle and leaves the bathroom. The others look at her as she leaves the dance studio and angrily slams the door. She walks swiftly looking from left to right, trying to find Minho.

Coincidentally, Raina thought the same and is now on her heels to look for Minho and confront him. She and Yuri cross paths but Yuri looks at her briefly then heads on to look for Minho.

"Wait! Yuri!" Raina chases after Yuri. Yuri whips around and waits for Raina to get to her.

"What do you want? Haven't you and your boyfriend insulted me enough? Verbally and emotionally?" Yuri asks, her face still wet with tears.

"I want to apologize for being so cold earlier. We have a single problem. Minho."

"If you think that I'm gonna work with you to put Minho to shame, then you better think again because I'm doing this for me!" Yuri walks on. Raina grabs her arm but Yuri removes it from Raina's grasp.

"But…"

"I don't need this…"Yuri says softly. Raina closes her eyes and walks away in shame.

**IV.**

I'm walking around the campus when someone approaches me, asking me to go to the Counselor's Office. Surprised, I drop my things and head to the said office. In there, I see the Guidance Counselor with a phone to her ear. I look at her confused because if she wants to see me, why is she talking on the phone with someone else.

"Uhm…excuse me. But you called for me?" I say softly while knocking on her desk. The Guidance Counselor removes the phone from her ear and invites me to come to her side.

"It's your mother. And I'm afraid she has some bad news." My eyes widen at the words 'bad news'. I bite my lip and take the phone.

"H-hello? Mom?"

"Tiffany. This is your mother speaking. Seohyun is very, very sick. She is in the hospital right now." I cover my mouth in shock.

"Why? What's wrong with her?"

"Apparently, she became too stressed and preoccupied with her rehearsals that she never ate and seldom slept. I told her to take a break but she refused to and continued to strive in her work."

"I don't understand. She was here a few days ago! How could she be sick?"

"That's because the virus was only starting to spread then. She didn't go to school today because her immune system was really weak and she couldn't even get out of bed. She was really in pain this morning but she still wanted to go. When she vomited blood and fainted, that's when I knew I had to bring her to the hospital. Anyways, you cannot see her as her disease is contagious. She wanted me to give you something on her behalf." I hold on to the cord of the phone. My tears start to well up in my eyes and I feel that the left eye cannot control it anymore. I start to cry.

"W-what did she want to give me?"

"It's a letter. And her CD Entry for Talent Month. She said that she doesn't have very long to live and she could probably die any minute now so she wants this CD to be played as her entry. And she wants you to receive her trophy should she win."

"Oh My God, mom!" I break down on the phone.

"Hush now, Tiffany. I will give it to you when you get home, okay?"

"Okay."

"Please pray for Seohyun. She really wants to live but I'm afraid it's not possible."

"Mom…mom, do not talk like that! Seohyun will live! Seohyun will live! She has a lot of potential in her! God loves her, mom! She will live!"

The line goes dead. I put the phone down and dash out of the Counselor's Office. I run out with my hands covering my face, crying like hell. I go to the bathroom and lock myself in.

"_I AM IN DEEP REGRET! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! SEOHYUN IS IN THE HOSPITAL SUFFERING FROM TUBERCULOSIS! I REGRET THOSE WORDS I SAID ABOUT HER! I REGRET WANTING TO PUT HER TO SHAME BECAUSE SHE AND SEUNGHYUN WERE VERY CLOSE! I REGRET WANTING TO HUMILIATE HER! AND MOST OF ALL…I REGRET FEELING JEALOUS OF HER!" _My brain is screaming at me as I weep loudly. I have a reason to.

I regret everything I said and thought about her. I shouldn't have let my brain run that way. I was very immature to actually start some competition with my own sister for a guy. I distanced myself from her and now she's gonna die! I stay in the cubicle for quite some time, telling all those who come that the person who is occupying the first cubicle is suffering from severe diarrhea.

Diarrhea of the heart.

**V.**

**[song: "Go Away" by 2NE1]**

Yuri finds Minho flirting with a bunch of girls in the Acting Department room. She knocks on the door but Minho ignores her. She knocks harder the second time but Minho ignores her once more. Figuring that the door isn't locked, she busts in and points a finger at Minho with an angry expression on her face.

"You! You are the BIGGEST ASSHOLE to ever grace the face of this planet!" Yuri says out loud. The other girls look at her shocked and stare at Minho.

"Woah. If this is about what happened last time, I'm really sorry. I wasn't able to make it because of some family problem!"

"Family problem my ass, you dickhead!" Yuri screams at the top of her lungs. She takes the pictures out of her jacket pocket and shows it to him.

"What are these?" Yuri angrily throws the pictures at Minho and the other girls.

"Those are pictures of you fucking around with other women, drunk and stoned! What does that say about you?"

"These are from the past!" Minho tries to explain. He moves closer to Yuri and places and arm around her shoulder. Yuri pushes his arm and him away. The other girls gasp and shriek at the pictures and at Yuri's toughness.

"Past? PAST? These were taken last night! We were supposed to have our date but what did you do? Huh? WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO? WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?" Minho is left silenced. Yuri smirks and nods her head. "That's right? You're a dick! You think girls are so easy to fool that's why you go around playing."

"Shut up!" Minho yells at her and points. "You don't know anything! You're new here!"

"Well that's the point! You took advantage of a new girl! You thought she was easy to trick because she doesn't know anything about the place. Well, you had me at first. But I think you failed to realize that this new girl is not like the other new girls that you've met! This new girl actually has a brain! Something you don't have!" Minho walks up to Yuri and grabs her hair. The other girls shriek in fright and leave the acting department.

"You've just made the biggest mistake in your life by humiliating me in front of those girls. You're gonna pay for this." Minho tightens his grip on Yuri's hair. Yuri struggles to break free from him but Minho is just too strong. He pushes Yuri down to the floor.

"Did you know that you're the first girl to actually come up to me so aggressively? Huh?" Minho kicks her side, making her wail in pain. "And did you know that you're the first girl to insult me in front of a crowd?" Minho grabs her hair and makes her stand. Yuri fights back by pushing Minho and slapping him. She slapped so hard that Minho's tooth falls off. Bleeding in the mouth now, Minho is thrice as aggressive.

"AND YOU ARE THE FIRST BITCH TO KNOCK MY TOOTH OUT!" Minho smacks her right cheek and sends her back on the floor. He continues to assault her by hitting her and pulling her hair.

"HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!" Minho is not satisfied as the beast in him has been unleashed. He takes his clothes off and tries to rape Yuri. "HELP ME PLEASE!" Yuri screams for help. Minho continues to batter her until she nears unconsciousness.

Just then, while Minho is getting busy with Yuri, someone smacks him from behind.

"LEAVE HER ALONE, YOU ASSHOLE!" screams the voice from behind. Yuri looks up and is greeted with a surprise.

Raina has come to her aid.

Minho stands up and buttons his shirt. He looks at Raina who is looking back at him viciously.

"What are you doing here, Oh Hye Rin? Didn't I tell you to disappear?"

"I've had enough of your nonsense, you cunt!" Raina strongly says. "You've been abusive for too long. It's time someone teaches you a lesson."

"What lesson, Raina? Tell me? How to weakly smack your boyfriend? Huh?" Minho inches closer to her.

"No…"

"Then what?"

"How to beat an asshole without even trying!" Minho is annoyed with her wit and raises his hand to smack her. He puts it down after getting a better idea. Raina glints her eyes and raises an eyebrow. Minho reaches for something in his pocket and pulls it out.

A small knife.

Raina's eyes widen with fear. She tries to escape but Minho blocks the door.

"This thing is going to kill you! And with that bitch down and out, no one will know what happened to you!" Minho pushes Raina and watches her as she struggles on the floor. He takes the knife out and plays with it in his hand. Raina struggles to get out as Minho nears her.

He thought wrong. Yuri gets up and lunges at him, pushes him away from Raina. Minho turns to her and raises his hand to stab her. Yuri, a swift thinker, kicks him in the nuts. Minho drops to his knees and wails on the floor, rolling around. Yuri rushes to Raina's aid and helps her up.

"Are you hurt?" asks Yuri not taking her gaze off Minho.

"No." Raina says. "But there's a slight sensation in my knee. I think it'll pass."

"Well good." Yuri says. "Let's get out of here."

Yuri and Raina walk out of the room together. They go to the bench near the lockers and sit there to talk.

"I'm really sorry for, you know, disregarding your feelings for Minho." Yuri apologizes without looking at Raina. For some reason, she's too shy to look at Raina for fear that Raina might stare back coldly.

"Well, you're new here, what do you know? Falling for Minho wasn't your fault. But you should've regarded my feelings for him and you should've respected my presence or my position as his girlfriend then. I remember when we crossed paths. You and Minho were very sweet and you spoke to me rudely. You shouldn't have. I was only looking after my boyfriend." Raina explains calmly this time.

"I've never been in love. Almost but never fully got there. I've been had." Yuri replies sadly.

"I kind of envy you, Yuri." Raina admits.

"Really?" Yuri asks.

"Yeah. You're so carefree and you love your life. I can never live my life like that. I'm a martyr, you see. I tend to feel for other people and I feel as though my mission in life is their happiness. I follow and conform to what should be rather than stand out and hold my own. I'm pretty docile, if you might say. And quite honestly…" Raina pauses for a while and puts her chin between her thumb and pointer.

"Yes."

"I admire you."

"You do?"

"Yes."

"After all the shit we've been through?"

"Most especially after all the shit we've been through! You proved yourself as a strong woman. You were fooled but you got back up and fought back. If I were you, I wouldn't and couldn't do that. I mean, you know what I went through with Minho. I never went against him. I always did what he wanted me to do. Even though I knew that he was cheating on me, on us, with Nana, I maintained that he was still my boyfriend and that he still loved me."

"But you saved me! How is it possible that-" Raina grabs Yuri's hand which shocks her.

"Because I couldn't stand seeing someone so promising die in the hands of someone who's so heartless. I did it for you not for him. I admire you, Yuri. I never hated you. I hated what you did but I loved you as a person. I loved you all along."

"Oh My God…" Yuri stammers. "Raina, I'm so sorry for all the…God!"

"You don't have to be sorry. As long as you're happy, I'm happy. Mission accomplished." Yuri smiles at Raina and Raina smiles back. Raina smiles like she's never smiled before. The brightest she's smiled since the day Minho made her his girl. But this smile is way brighter than that, of course. The two embrace and exchange vows of newfound friendship.

"From this day forth, I recognize you, Raina Oh as my friend."

"From this day forth, I recognize you, Kwon Yuri as my friend."

The two hug once more.

"Say, I have a proposal for Talent Month." Yuri says.

"What's that?"

"Why don't we do a mashed up performance?"

"How?"

"You and your girls can sing while me and my crew will dance."

"That's great! But that's for the merge competition. There's still the individual talents competition."

"Then go for it! I think you're a good singer though I haven't heard you sing yet."

"I'm not going for the individual talents."

"Why not?"

"I'm out of the competition. I got disqualified, remember?"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Yuri stands up and leads Raina to the bulletin board. She scans the names and points at Raina's which is the 3rd name signed. Raina covers her mouth in shock and joy.

"Oh My! But how?"

"I talked to the Principal and the Talent Heads about this. I really convinced them to take you back because I said you were a good singer. Their hearts softened and they permitted me to sign you up again. And there's your name. You're the 3rd to perform on Talent Month!" Raina embraces Yuri again.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! God! How can I ever repay you, Yuri?"

"No need. Friendship doesn't come with a price, you know!" Yuri and Raina embrace once more.

"Say, uhm. I got some fierce competition going on. With Ga In and all so if you don't mind, I need to go practice."

"I have some competition, too! See you around!"

"See you, too!" The two part ways but before either girl could get any further, they go back and hug each other.

**VI.**

I rush all the way home with my backpack hanging loose on my right shoulder. I bust through the door and though hyperventilating, call for my mom. My mom comes rushing and embraces me with tearful eyes.

"What's going on? How's Seohyun? Where is she? Is she here?" I have so many questions that cannot be answered. My mother refuses to look at me and stares at the floor. "Mom! What the hell?"

"I'm sorry, Tiffany." My mother lets all her sadness out by crying. She holds my shoulder and shakes me.

"What. I don't understand. How is Seohyun?" I ask anxiously but somehow I already have an idea about what's going on.

"Your sister…." Mom takes a deep breath. "Has passed away." Though I had an idea, it still shocks me. My things fall and I want to fall on the floor as well. My knees go weak and so do my arms and the other jointed parts of my body. My mother cries and walks away from me, leaving me alone and dazed in the living room. She goes to the kitchen and pours herself a glass of Asti. I just stare at her with eyes full of tears.

"_Seohyun. Dead. It can't be. It just can't be! Talent Month's nearing and she still has her piece to play and her song to sing…"_

Finally, I break down.

My cellphone rings and I reach for my bag to get it. It's Ji Yeon.

"Hello?"

"Tiffany! I have some horrible news!"

"Spill it because I have even more horrible news. I'm here at home, crying on the living room floor."

"Why?"

"Seohyun is dead."

"Oh shit. Your sister? But-"

"I know."

"What did she die of?"

"Tuberculosis. She worked herself out too much. Bout you? What's your bad news?"

"Hyun Joong died."

Moment of silence.

"WHAT THE FUCK? ANOTHER ONE?"

"Exactly!"

"Oh shit! What? How? Why?"

"He and his dad went drug tripping and alcohol binging. They drove home and the dad was so drunk and high he crashed into something and it killed them both."

"But what about his Talent Month entry?"

"He painted it and wanted me to give it on his behalf."

The pain doubles. I feel my heart getting squashed by emotions of guilt and sadness. I cry even harder to the point that I have reached the highest level of incoherency.

"Are you still there? You're all breathy and stuff."

"Ji Yeon. Are you crying right now?"

"I am."

"But it's like you're not."

"Tears are gently flowing from my eyes, Tiffany. I loved Hyun Joong for just a short while and now he's gone. But it's okay. No need to be hysterical. It's better for him to have a good afterlife in heaven than to live hell on Earth."

"But that's not the case with Seohyun. Seohyun is a good sister! She's everything you could ask for!"

"I'm really sorry for her loss, Tiffany." I cry even harder and my heartaches just won't leave me. I hung up and walk meekly to my room and lock myself. I'm not only feeling sadness. I'm feeling guilt and shame. How could I be so indifferent. I never even got the chance to hug her and wish her luck. I wasted all my time feeling jealous of her and plotting. All for a boy. A stupid, useless boy!

I sit on my bed and see a CD as well as a letter. I get the CD and play it. The sad melody of the intro shakes my heart.

**[song: "T.T.L." by T-ara and Supernova]**

The song is familiar. It's the song that she and Seung Hyun were practicing the other day. The heartbreaking melody sends goosebumps all over my body and down my spine. I cry even harder.

Then suddenly, I remember the letter. I reach for it and unfold it. I scan it first and see that it's pretty long. I then read it word by word. It reads:

_Dear Tiffany,_

_Hello! It's me, your sister Seohyun. I'm sorry for bothering you with this letter. I just want to let you know how I feel inside towards you. Lately I've noticed that you've been acting coldly towards me for some reason I don't know. I want you to know that this makes me feel very sad. Is it because of Seung hyun? Is it because of my status at school? Or is it because I get more attention than you? I am not bragging. Those are simply facts. I know what and how others see me and they see me differently from how they see you. But just so you know, I don't care what other people say. What's important to me is that we have a healthy relationship as sisters. If you're jealous, don't be. Because I'm younger than you and I look up to you as my role model. You may not be as pretty or as popular as the other girls but it doesn't matter. Those don't account for a person's influence. To me you're a noble person and someone worthy of all the praise in the world._

_Another thing, if you're angry because I get more attention despite being adopted, it's time for me to let you know a little secret…_

_There's no need to feel jealous. We're equal…because you're adopted, too. I heard mom and dad talking about it one night and I just couldn't believe that they wanted to keep it a secret from you. But I'm and always will be your best friend, so let this letter open your heart, mind, and soul. _

_I love you so much, sister._

_Love,_

_Seo Joo Hyun. _

The letter reduces me to tears and wails and weeps. The last part shocks me because I didn't know that I was adopted. It actually makes me hate my parents because they kept it from me for so long and for so long I believed that I was really their kid and that Seohyun was the adopted one because they were very vocal about Seohyun's being adopted. I have been put in a bad mood. I flip the paper and see some scribbles on the back part.

_P.S._

_If you're wondering why Mom and Dad kept it from you, it's because they love you more than they love me. You're their favorite child. Not me. And for so long I strived for their attention. But now I see that it's not worth it. You deserve all their love. You deserve more than me. I love you, Tiffany. _

I bury myself in the sheets and cry till I fall asleep.


	7. Talent Month

I.

Several days later, life has returned to normal

I don't have anything to practice for so let this piece of work by my entry.

All the students gather at the Court to witness a day of epic and talented proportions. The day when the most talented students in the land clash for prestige, honor, and glory.

Some do it for fun. I'm one of those people.

I go over to the upper part of the Court to be able to get a clear view of the performers. I clutch my bag and suddenly feel the CD. I jump out of my seat to give it to a judge before I forget. I walk over to their table and hand them the CD.

"Excuse me, but what is this?" asks one judge.

"That is the entry of my sister Seohyun. You see, she died a few weeks ago and she wanted me to give this to you. Actually, she knew she was gonna die prior to her confinement so she recorded it. And now it's here." The judges' jaws are hanging open.

"Seo Joo Hyun? The new student?"

"Yes."

"She's your sister?"

"Most definitely."

The judge stands up and goes to the MC of the day. The word of Seohyun's death has not yet spread so I think it's about time the school finds out.

"Min Hyun, a student has passed away. Kindly offer a small prayer for her before the competition starts." the judge whispers.

"Sure thing!" replies the MC. I go back to my seat and tightly clutch my handbag which contains my notebook. I look at the performers getting ready. I spy Yuri and her crew brainstorming and praying together.

"Alright guys." Yuri, the team captain, says. "This is the big day. Remember, we worked hard for this. We did everything we could and if the outcome is not as pleasing as we expect it to be, let's accept it with open arms. I don't want no bitter loser after this. Whatever happens, we'll always be a team!" The other crew members nod. Yuri places her hand forward.

"Are we a team?" the other members place their hands on top of one another's and raise them with a victory/good luck cheer.

"YEAH!" Just so happens the Gahee and her girls overheard their little chatter.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Ms. Kwon or should I say, Mistress Choi. Such a shame what happened to you! You got caught in a web of lies." Gahee teases and takes a strand of Yuri's hair and twirls it around her finger. Yuri pushes her hand away and tries to level up to the much taller Park Gahee.

"Shut up, this isn't about him. You shouldn't even be talking about that! Thing is, you're going down, Gahee. We're gonna bring you down!" Yuri says cockily.

"As if! You losers just wait and see what we got!" Gahee boasts.

Yuri and Gahee glare into each other's eyes and turn their backs.

"Ignore her." Min says. "She's not important."

"Right. What's important is we have fun today. Everybody game with that?" the others cheer and give one another high fives of good luck.

The MC steps up to the podium and begins the program. He shuffles and arranges his cue cards before clearing his throat and reaching for the microphone to speak.

"Good Morning everyone! Today is the day you've all been waiting for. Right now is the start of Talent Month." Cheers envelope the place. "But before everything else, I would like each and every one of us to stand up and offer a silent prayer for the soul of Seo Joo Hyun who passed away a few days ago. Let us also pray for the soul of another student who died on the same day. Kim Hyun Joong."

Gasps and short cries fill the Court. I look over to Seung hyun's place and see him place a hand on his face. Nobody knew about it. Nobody cared. It makes me feel sad. All of us bow our heads and offer silent prayers for Seohyun and Hyun Joong. After a few seconds of solemn prayer, the MC begins once more.

"God Bless the soul of this talented woman." continues the MC. "And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for. Let the show, begin!" Cheers and roars envelope the place once more.

**FIRST: ART CONTEST**

Ji Yeon and the other art contestants line up with their works. Silence fills the place as the judges check their works. Some works appeal to their eyes. Some make them cringe deep down inside. When they reach Ji Yeon's work, they're surprised to see two paintings.

"Why do you have two paintings, my dear?" asks a judge.

"Because the other one is my boyfriend's. Hyun Joong's. He painted this several days before his demise and he told me to present it in case he doesn't make it. It's his entry. This one on the left is mine." The judge fixes her spectacles and moves on.

**SECOND: WRITING CONTEST**

All the Writing Department students submit their essays, me included. The judges read all the entries and decide on a winner.

Now, it's time for the motion-related talents. For those that need movement.

**FIRST: ACTING CONTEST**

The actors are in groups and are to present their respective rehearsed plays. Minho is part of Group B, the second out of 4 groups. Minho and his group are to present a dramatic-tragedy act that they hope will bring the audience to tears. I mean, the best actor in school is there. Minho has guaranteed victories for his group for years and what makes this even any different from any other year?

The fact that Minho's pride and reputation have been stained.

Minho looks over to the are where Yuri is. Yuri is moving around a lot so she doesn't really notice him but their eyes meet at one point. Yuri tries to shy away from his stare and focus on her main goal but Minho gazes longer, so long that she starts to feel his gaze from afar. Remembering what he did to her a few days ago, she looks at him and gives him a really mean stare. One that says, 'Fuck you, asshole. This is my day and you're not gonna ruin it.' Minho smirks at her and waits with his group for their turn to perform.

A few minutes after the first group has finished their act, Minho and his group step forward and warm themselves up, preparing for their turn. Minho glares at Yuri again and Yuri stares at him. Minho gives her a dirty smirk but Yuri retaliates with something even worse.

She raises her middle finger and mouths the words "Fuck you! I hope you lose!" Minho understands this and points his finger at Yuri, mouthing "You watch your mouth, bitch!" Finally, the next group is called and they go on stage altogether to present their act. They act out a dramatic scene which involves love, betrayal, and death. Minho dies in the play.

After the play, the group receives a sea of roars, cheers, and yelps and howls from the audience. Especially Minho. Kind of funny because despite of what happened, he still receives praises from the others, especially the girls. This just shows how shallow the girls are in our school. They love him because he looks oh-so-dashing there.

Yuri scoffs at the pandemonium and continues to exercise in order to prepare for her dance number with her group. She scans the place and eyes all her detractors. Park Gahee. Choi Soo Young. Kong Minji. Kim Hyun Ah. Choi Minho. It drives her crazy. She just needs something or someone to make her stop thinking about the haters. Scoffing and shaking her head, Yuri ties her hair up in a bun and puts her jacket on.

"Where are you going?" Nicole notices Yuri walking away from them. Yuri looks back and walks on, refusing to answer Nicole. Nicole runs after her and taps her on the shoulder. Yuri coldly receives her friend by ignoring her.

"Look, if this is about Minho, I'm sorry. I know everything that happened between-" Yuri took Nicole's hand from behind. She turns around and embraces her friend. Nicole embraces Yuri back.

"You don't have to be sorry." Yuri says. "It was my fault for not listening to you. I could've saved myself from humiliation and heartbreak, but I chose not to."

"You didn't humiliate yourself, Yuri." Nicole says. "You did the right thing. You didn't take things lying down. I heard your story and I heard how you fought back. That was just right. I'm proud of you." Yuri smiles slightly and pulls Nicole in for a hug.

"Enough of this drama." Yuri says energetically. "We've got a competition to win!" Nicole and Yuri gleefully skip back to the court.

**SECOND: SINGING CONTEST**

Raina is nervously wringing her fingers for it is time that the singing competition takes place. She prances about with her lyric sheet in her hands. She shoots looks at Minho and at Yuri while trying hard to get the tune of her song right.

"_So I hate you~"_ she sings. Ga In overhears her and stares at her. Raina feels Ga In's cold gaze and looks her way. Ga In smiles at her and looks straight back. Raina is taken aback by the smile and smiles to herself while trying to cram the lyrics into her brain.

**[Ga In's song: "I'm Alone" by Tiffany]**

The melody takes me by surprise. I turn to Ga In's direction and watch her with eyes wide open. Then, I start to remember days from 3 years ago when Ga In an d I were friends and I was very much into song writing. I wrote her a song and since I knew of her talent, I made her sing it…

That's my song she's singing. After 3 years of being apart despite studying in the same school, she still has the copy of the song. It's still with her. She still knows it. And now, she's on the stage about to perform it. Ga In sings the song with all the emotion in the world, just like the time I wrote it. The raw emotion that she shows while singing garners a lot of attention from the audience and wins her an ocean of claps.

Ga In bows after her number and eyes the crowd for Minho. Minho notices Ga In and looks away from her, afraid of being glared at. Ga In smiles and shakes her head before going down the stage.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. My eyes widen and as I carefully turn around, arms envelope me into an embrace. I awkwardly respond to the kind gesture by hugging back and as the hugger pulls away, to my surprise, it's Ga In!

"Thank you so much for writing that song!" she says.

"You're welcome."

"I'm sorry if I changed. You know, sorry if we drifted apart because of me. If ever you want to talk to me and be friends again, you can always come to me." I nearly tear up at Ga In's words. Despite of all the chaos that's going on in my life right now, there's always one person there to calm me down. And it just so happens to be my old friend, Ga In.

"You don't have to be sorry. You never did anything wrong." I hug her and feel her hug back.

Next up, Nana.

**[Nana's song: "Lies" by T-ara]**

Nana prettily walks up the stage, prettily grabs the mic and introduces herself. After a short moment of silence, the music starts and Nana's pretty belting voice echoes throughout the court. Everyone's eyes widen in amusement and shock. Who knew a girl with such a sweet face had a voice that powerful?

While Nana is singing, Raina feels her heart shaking and trying to burst out of her chest. She inhales and exhales rapidly. She tries everything to calm herself down but the atmosphere just won't let her. There, in her beautiful black, long sleeved, above the knee dress, stands Raina about to sing a piece that has practiced for. While prancing about in her place, a few minutes before she goes up on stage, she feels a hand on her shoulder. She frantically whips around and sees her former rival, Kwon Yuri, supporting her in this very moment.

"Don't sweat it, Raina. You'll do good." Yuri assures her friend. Raina grabs Yuri's hand and clasps it in hers.

"I'm doing this not just for me. But for us. For you, Ga In, and Nana. All of us girls who were played and fooled by Minho." Raina says.

"Well actually, I noticed something." Yuri says.

"What?"

"That Ga In and Nana sang really vengeful, sad, angry songs."

"That's because I talked to them." Raina says. "I told them that our theme should be against unfaithfulness. Those songs were aimed at Minho and I'm sure he knew that, too."

"Is your song aimed at Minho?" asks Yuri.

"Damn right! I'm the leader, remember?"

"Well, good luck. Win or lose, it doesn't matter. For as long as you prove your point. I love you, Raina. Go get it!" Yuri and Raina embrace before Raina goes to the stage and sings her part.

Next up, Raina Oh Hye Rin.

**[Raina's song: "Two Different Tears" by the Wonder Girls]**

Raina stands on stage and waits for the piano to start playing. Once it starts, she sings the first line with all her power. She looks straight, at no one in particular, then closes her eyes to immerse herself in the emotion of the song. Upon reaching the high note, everyone cheers for her, even the teachers who disqualified her. Yuri cheers the loudest.

_Geuraesseo niga jun apeum…senggakhae_

_Neo ttaemunae heullin nunmul…senggakhae _

Upon singing those lines, Raina scans the place for Minho, who seems to be hiding from his ex-girlfriend. Raina spots him and gives him the evil eye, even changing the tone of her voice and the notes of the song just to make him feel guilty.

Halfway through the song, Raina is waiting for her record to play the rap part but to her surprise, it doesn't. This worries Raina as it's supposed to go that way. But a bigger surprise awaits her.

Key comes out and raps for her which makes the students cheer louder. He, who was fooled by his best friend Minho, eyes Minho, too and even points at him while rapping. Once the rap part is done, Key bows down to Raina and gives her the stage. Everyone goes wild at Raina's singing. As her performance comes to an end, Raina excites the crowd by striking a pose. Yuri gets so excited that she goes up on stage and hugs Raina.

"GODDAMMIT! YOU WERE SO GOOD!" Yuri yells at Raina amidst all the cheers. Raina is able to hear it and grabs Yuri's hand.

"Thanks. Good luck with your dance, too. I heard you guys are first." Raina says.

After Raina's performance, the judge that I talked to earlier goes to the MC and hands him the CD.

"Seo Joo Hyun's entry. Even from beyond the grave. This girl is unstoppable." the MC gets the CD and tells the DJ to play it.

"Everyone, the next performer is not with us but I know that she is looking down upon us from heaven. So she worked on this CD prior to her death." The MC signals the DJ to play the CD. Everyone turns sentimental at the sound of the piano

**[Seohyun and Seung hyun's song: "TTL" by T-ara and Supernova]**

Upon hearing this, I sit down on my chair and cry my heart out. Nobody is looking at me because all are too busy talking about her death. Raina and Yuri-who are still holding hands-look up and back at each other. They don't know what happened but they sort of have an idea.

"God that's sad." Yuri tells Raina.

"I know. She was our classmate. She had so much potential." Raina replies. "Honestly, I don't mind if I lose this competition to her."

While in my sentiment, I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. I ignore it because as of the moment, no hand or arm or what can comfort me. Nothing can bring Seohyun back.

"I know how you feel. I cried all night when I heard about this, too." says the deep voice. All cried out, wet and haggard, I raise my head and look to my left. A huge surprise greets me. Seung hyun has his arm around me, comforting me. My eyes grow larger in shock and in pleasure but I don't want to emphasize the pleasure. It's because of this guy that I grew cold towards Seohyun. I look down and continue to cry.

"I'm a bad sister." I blurt out.

"Why?"

"I ignored her and grew cold towards her. I felt jealous of her."

"Why?"

"Because she was really popular. All the boys liked her and even the girls wanted to be her friend. Besides, she had you. You and her were friends. Who could ask for more? And another, you like her. You had something for her."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"Huh?"

"First of all, Seohyun wasn't that popular. She was friendly, but not popular. She liked going near strangers and striking conversations with them but popular? No way! After talking to her, most don't even remember her name. That's why when she died, only very few people knew about it. Second, nobody ever tried to court her. Seohyun was way too virginal or girly or pure for their tastes. It didn't meet their standards, her personality that is."

Seung hyun really opened my eyes to the reality that was. I didn't honestly know that Seohyun wasn't popular. I think I was just belittling myself.

"And what did you say about us having something? We never had anything. Nobody wanted to do the rapping for her so I volunteered to do it. For friendship's sake."

"Oh."

"Yeah. But do you know what we often talked about?"

"What?"

"We often talked about you."

"Me? Why me?"

"Yeah! You. Do you know why?"

"Uhm. No. Duh! That's why I'm asking you!" Seung hyun tells me to come closer. I lean closer to him and I feel butterflies in my stomach as he sweeps a few strands of my hair to the side.

"Because I like you."

Shock. Surprise. Pleasant. Pleasure. Excitement. Guilt.

Choi Seung Hyun likes me. Oh. Hot. Damn. Oh. My. God.

It makes me feel even more guilty. Seung hyun liked me all along. And all this time I thought it was my sister he liked.

"Your mystery enchants me. That's why we often talked about you. When she said that you were her sister, I got excited. I love everything about you, Tiffany Hwang. From your eyes to the things you write, you're beautiful. You may not be that popular but definitely, you're the one for me!" I am star struck at his words. I feel my heart sinking and fluttering at the same time.

"You're beautiful, Tiffany. Don't let anyone tell you that you're not!" Seung hyun gets up and takes my hand. My eyes widen in surprise. He kisses it and winks at me before walking away. I clasp my hands and place them on my chest, feeling my heart beating swiftly. I cry silently. Tears of sadness and joy.

**THIRD: DANCING CONTEST**

Now's the time. Here it is. The moment Kwon Yuri and her crew have been waiting for. The dance contest is about to start and they are all mighty anxious to perform. They all fix their costumes, say their prayers and recall some moves.

"Guys! Gather round!" everyone gathers around Yuri and place their arms around one another, bowing down and whispering amongst one another.

"Alright, here's the key. Attitude, emotion, determination. You guys have to have those three. If we have those three, we can win this and we can win the crowd. If they're not enough to guarantee us the victory, don't feel bad. What's important is, we'll have fun and we'll win the crowd's hearts. Confidence! We have to have confidence. Don't care about the haters or the onlookers who aren't paying attention to what we are doing. Just remember, we're doing this for us not for them. This is for the sake of expressing our love for dancing. The steps! We practiced real hard for weeks so you guys should have mastered them already! Avoid looking down! Heads up at all times. Swagger people! Swagger! And another, don't forget to pray. Before the music starts, say a short prayer in your minds and hearts. This is for us! Don't let anyone bring you guys down! We can do this! I want you to say it with me! We can do this!"

"We can do this!" replies the crew.

"Louder!" Yuri coaches.

"We can do this!"

"Energy! Power! The loudest you got!" Yuri coaches.

"WE CAN DO THIS!"

"THEN LET'S DO THIS!"

"YEAH!" The crew cheers and raise their arms in determination. Gahee and her crew on the other hand smirk confidently.

"We don't need no pep talk! We can blow them away!" Hyun Ah says.

Before the dancing starts, all the crews assemble at their respective places. Yuri and her crew are in jackets and shorts/skirts for the girls and baggy pants for the guys. Gahee and her girls are going sexy while the guys are shirtless, showing off the proof of their hard work.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT'S TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENT!" The MC roars. The crowd that was emotional earlier is lively and happy again. "IT'S TIME FOR THE DANCING COMPETITION!" The cheers are louder this time.

"The first performers are the Foxes led by Park Gahee. Let's give them a round of applause!"

**GAHEE'S GROUP:**

**[First song: "Real Lips" By Sori]**

For the first part, the girls flirtily step forward and gyrate to the seductive music. They do everything sexual. From rolling on the floor to steps that make them look as if they're masturbating. The chorus is anything but decent. They have steps that touch their boobs and some bondage-like steps with the guys (they use whip like things and tie they guys, ride on their backs). The guys are of huge help in this dance as they add to the 'libido' factor. A lot of guys are aroused by the performance but most are really grossed out.

**[Second song: "Bonamana" by Super Junior]**

It's the guys' turn to show off. Of course, they picked something that's just as sexy as the girls'. Since they are shirtless (most of them for that matter), you can just imagine the screams that I am hearing here. The girls are like going crazy and you can see the respective girlfriends of the guys going forward to take pictures of their boyfriends. I don't find it sexy, actually. Neither did I find the girls' performance astounding. Not because I don't like Gahee (well, partly) but because I know that Yuri and her crew have more potential and they don't even have to be all dirty like these guys. But since it's art for art's sake, then by all means just go!

**[Third song: "Toc Toc Toc" by Lee Hyori]**

This is the group dance. The girls and boys dance altogether, now reaching an all new level of sexiness. The formations are good, well practiced actually. It's not that bad, you can actually see that they worked hard to put this thing together and quite honestly, it's good! But they just need to lessen the sexiness because this is a talent show in a school not at a bar so they have to limit the explicit things that they're showing. They have steps that look like they're having sex or steps that are just downright eye-opening (ehem…BDSM? Whips?). And their costumes…don't even get me started on that.

Their performance ends with a very sexy group pose, eliciting deafening screams from the crowd and cringed faces from the judges. They 'sexily' exit the stage and brush through Yuri and her crew. Gahee stares Yuri down and sarcastically says,

"Good luck, new girl! You're gonna need it! With all those screams, there's no way you're winning!" Yuri raises an eyebrow and smiles. She turns to her crew and motivates them even more.

"Guys, it's our turn. Let's make this happen!" Yuri says.

A few minutes for resting and preparation…

"Tiffany!" calls Raina. She is walking towards me with Key. "Let's go and cheer for Yuri!"

"Oh! Raina! Key!" I say. "I enjoyed your performance!"

"Thanks. Now let's go and cheer for Yuri. Let's give her some pep talk!" Key says. I stand up and go with them.

"YURI!" Raina jumps on Yuri with her hands on Yuri's shoulders. Yuri spins around surprised and hugs Raina tightly, mainly because of nervousness. She sees Key and shakes his hand. She sees me and smiles. I smile back and extend my hand for a handshake. Yuri grabs it and pulls me closer for a hug. I hug her back.

"Yuri, good luck with your dance! We know you'll do good!" I say.

"Thanks. Thank you so much for supporting us. And Tiffany, thanks so much for coming with them. I know we aren't that close and we only talked once but still, thanks!" Yuri and I hug once more. Yuri hugs Raina and Key and bows.

"It's our time now, gotta go!" Yuri runs from us and we wave goodbye.

"KWON YURI, HWAITING!" the three of us yell together. Yuri looks back and salutes us.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Our next performers, Beat Street crew, led by Kwon Yuri!" this elicited MORE screams. Minho turns away and hides once more. He's been nervous all day.

**[FIRST PART: "Bad Girl Good Girl" by Miss A]**

This is the girls' part. Yuri is in the very front of course. In identical jackets and shorts and boots, the girls dance altogether. The choreography is very complex and well-thought of. You can see the hard work they put into forming the dance. The steps

aren't very easy to follow and just a little secret, Yuri and her three friends planned all of this. There's a step where they lie on the stomachs on the floor and move their legs about. The girls heeded Yuri's advice to always look up, stay confident, and give it their all. The formations in the later part of the song are also very remarkable, as well as some stunts and adlibs. For the last chorus, Yuri and Nicole share the stage while the others are posing in the background. And finally, the ending. Yuri actually has a lapel with her and she sings the 'you don't know me' part while pointing at Minho.

"SO SHUT UP BOY!" the girls yell altogether, like a pep squad.

"SO SHUT UP BOY!"

The dance ends beautifully! They pose and exit as the boys enter.

**[SECOND PART: "Lollipop 2" by Big Bang]**

Now for the boys! The boys in this group are more wholesome as they are fully clothed. Remember when Yuri was dancing this in the dance studio? She was actually choreographing for the boys and judging by what she did, the outcome is pretty good. The boys are in sync and have a lot of swagger. Their all-black hip hop attire is very striking despite having only one color. The steps surely make up for whatever they are lacking in costume. At least it's decent. The steps for this dance are very hard to follow, too. Yuri must be a really good choreographer. There's also a creative aspect in the dance. In the last chorus, the boys pull out lollipops and suck on them while dancing ferociously (they're experts, so don't worry about them choking on the lollipops). At the end of the song, the pose coolly.

**[THIRD PART: "Can't Nobody" by 2NE1]**

This is the mixed part. Yuri leads the group and once again shows her dancing prowess. The other girls and boys keep up with her and viciously execute the steps that they made. Before the first verse ends, they unzip their jackets and throw them on the floor, revealing brown halter tops that extend just above the belly button for the girls and black wife beaters for the guys. This heightened the crowd's excitement.

"CAUSE I'M SO BAD! BAD BUT I'M SO GOOD GOOD!" the crew yells. They form a line with Yuri in front and alternatively sway to the left and the right. Yuri poses and gyrates in the middle. The chorus really blows the crowd away. Yuri and a guy dancer get their game on by flaunting their hip hop dance moves. Gahee's knees tremble in fear. She looks at the judges and see their smiling faces. She tries to go near the crew with hopes of distracting them but wrong timing.

For the second part, the crowd goes hip hop and shows their vicious dance moves, part of which look as if they're sending Gahee away. Gahee and her crew back up and cower. Yuri goes near Gahee, runs a hand through her messy hair and smirks…

"LET'S ROCK, JUST TAKE IT TO THE TOP!" the crowd goes even wilder. Gahee, the sore loser, steps forward and challenges Yuri to a dance off. Yuri steps forward and says,

"You had your turn. Now it's ours." Yuri smiles and dances with her crew once more.

Their performance ends with a pose. Raina, Key, and I yell out loud but the crowd's cheers are even louder. They just love Yuri. Minho walks away. Yuri and her crew exit the stage and the three of us greet her with hugs. Her crew is just going crazy because they know they're gonna win this thing. I mean, they're competing against only one crew so…it's clear!

**II.**

**Winners…**

"And now, this is the moment we've all been REALLY waiting for" stresses the MC. "After some thinking, arguing, and deciding, the judges have come to a conclusion. We have a set of winners for each category…"

Everyone's all nervous. The judge hands the MC the envelope.

"For the Art Department. The winner is…Park Ji Yeon!" Ji Yeon clasps her hands and covers her face. She walks up to receive her diploma and medal.

"For the Writing Department, we have…" The MC looks at me and smirks. It gives me a bad/good feeling. "Tiffany Hwang!" I run up the stage with all my confidence, and get the diploma. I stand next to my best friend Ji Yeon and scream with her.

"For the Acting Department. The winner is…" Minho places a hand on his forehead. "Group A!" Minho's group didn't win and because of this, Minho is very disappointed. What a way to end the day! Group A comes to the stage and receives their trophy.

"For the singing department, we have…" Ga In, Nana, Raina, and the other singers join hands… "Raina Oh Hye Rin!" Raina comes to the stage and I clap happily for her. But she has a sad face on and she grabs the mic from the MC.

"Do not give me this trophy. I dedicate this trophy to one of the most hardworking students in our class. She is no longer with us. Seo Joo Hyun, this is for you! We shall display this in our classroom in your honor!" the audience cheers. I run to her and embrace her for her kindness.

"For the Dance Department…only two crews battled for this…" The MC raises his eyebrow and smirks. "The winner is…"

Gahee and her crew join hands, so do Yuri and her crew.

"BEAT STREET CREW!" Yuri and her crew jump for joy and yell. They receive a standing ovation. They run to the stage and we greet them with hugs and squeals and everything.

"I KNEW YOU WOULD MAKE IT! I KNEW YOU WOULD MAKE IT!" Raina yells.

"I KNEW YOU WOULD WIN TOO!" the two hug and shed tears. All their hard work has finally paid off. Raina and Yuri hug me too. Key runs to the stage to congratulate and hug us as well as the other winners. We're all having a party on stage.

"As a consolation prize," the MC begins, "We're gonna reward all of you with a small dance party. So DJ-put it on! Everyone, let's party!" we all rush to the dance floor and party like we've never partied before. I see Yuri approach a very sour-faced Gahee.

"Hey!" she taps Gahee on the shoulder. "Let's close this fight, shall we. You guys did good, too. Congratulations!" Yuri extends her hand for Gahee to shake but since Gahee is such a sore loser, she crosses her arms in front of her chest and walks away.

"Don't mind her." Nicole says. "She's always like that." Yuri laughs and joins the party.

Art is life in this school. Actually, life is like art. It is what we make it. A masterpiece is what we paint in the canvas. We have control over our lives and we have the ability to make the best and be the best we can be.

-Tiffany Hwang Mi Young.

[DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BUT THE IDEA HERE!]


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